France grants New Caledonia third and final independence referendum

In the first referendum in 2018, 57% voted to remain part of France; in the second, in October 2020, that decreased to 53%.

Paris has granted its Pacific territory of New Caledonia a third referendum on independence after narrowly chose to remain part of France, officials said. France’s minister for overseas territories, Sebastien Lecornu, agreed to a request April 8 from the New Caledonia legislature to hold a third and final referendum in the next 18 months as provided for under the terms of a decolonisation plan agreed in 1998. The French government will “keep to its word and organise the referendum before October 2022,” he said in a statement.