Örupp Group votes to leave France – Pages

The Nykalédoniens go Sunday in the polling stations to decide to form an independent nation or stay under French flag.

The seven polls conducted over the past 18 months suggest that a majority of voters oppose independence, according to The Economist.

To be a long prison colony

The islands, which number about 270,000, are located about 200 miles off the east coast of Australia.

They were deposited under the French imperial power of Napoleon III in 1853 and were for a long time a penal colony, your France condemned convicts.

Today, New Caledonia enjoys a special status among the many French territories overseas and residents have the right to dual citizenship: New Caledonia and France.

In the 1980s, violent conflicts erupted with independence warriors, mostly Aboriginal Canadians, and those who would continue to be part of France, French and French descendants, called kaldocher. The troubles occurred in 1988, when an agreement was signed providing that the islands would enjoy greater independence and development assistance.

Twenty years ago, it was decided that the question of independence would be resolved by a referendum, which had been postponed to a later date.

A 13 remaining zones

Inherited from the colonial period, France now has 13 overseas territories spread throughout the world. Everyone has representation in Parliament in Paris – New Caledonia is made up of two members – and residents vote in the French elections.

Five of the regions are ordinary French departments, corresponding to departments, with almost the same status as the departments of European France. The others enjoy greater autonomy at different degrees and sometimes have the opportunity to establish their own laws.

The population in many regions depends largely on French financial contributions, but the discontent is also great, many considering themselves neglected by the Paris power station.

In French Guiana, between Brazil and Suriname, and in the group of Mayotte eyes in the Indian Ocean, discontent has sparked major demonstrations in recent years.

New Caledonia has about a quarter of the world's known nickel assets and a high GDP ratio.

Macron warns China

When French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to New Caledonia and the largest city of Nouméa at the beginning of this year, he concluded that "France would be less beautiful without New Caledonia".

He also warned China's geopolitical interests in the Pacific – highlighting China's growing influence over the Vanuatu group, which has separated from France and Britain in the years. 1980.

The Australian Consulate General in New Caledonia, Denise Fisher, also expressed a positive opinion on the French presence in the region.

Australia was delighted to see France established in the region destroyed by natural resources, especially at a time when there are many geostrategic changes and new actors like China, she told ABC. Australian.