FLNKS supporters wave the Kanak flag of New Caledonia on the night of the second independence referendum in October 2020. Photo: AFP or licensors
A major political party within the pro-independence FLNKS grouping in New Caledonia has backtracked on its initial acknowledgement of a draft document proposed by Paris for determining the future status of the French Territory.
The decision by the Caledonian Union (or UC) to reserve judgement until after its own Congress later this year is yet another spanner in the works for France, which has been trying to forge a new path for New Caledonia after three consecutive no-votes to independence in referenda conducted in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
Paris has struggled to get engagement from pro-independence parties because indigenous Kanak's boycotted the third referendum held in 2021, and do not recognise its outcome.
Several pro-French politicians have since said UC's latest change of heart only isolated the party within the political spectrum, because other pro-independence FLNKS components have recently reassured they will take part in a fresh round of talks with the French minister next month.
RNZ Pacific Editor, Koroi Hawkins spoke with Patrick Decloitre on RNZ's French Pacific desk about the complex situation.
