THE Pacific islands of New Caledonia today opted to remain part of France, with voters rejecting independence in a closely watched referendum seen as a measure of support for Paris in one of its many strategic outposts.

Some 18,000km from the French mainland, New Caledonia is home to a quarter of the world’s known supplies of nickel – a vital electronics component – and is a foothold for France in the Pacific.

On the final count, 56.4% of people rejected the proposition that New Caledonia become independent, a clear but smaller-than-expected victory for loyalists to the mainland.

Some 175,000 people were eligible to vote on the remote islands fringed by spectacular beaches.

There were fears that the referendum could inflame tensions between the indigenous Kanak people, who tend to favour independence, and the white population, which has settled since France annexed the islands in 1853.

These differences caused ethnic strife in the 1980s, which claimed more than 70 lives. It led to the 1998 Noumea Accord, which paved the way for a steady devolution of powers, as well as today’s referendum.

Separatists had urged Kanak voters to choose self-determination for Kanaky – their name for New Caledonia – and throw off the shackles of the “colonial” authorities in Paris.

The Kanak community is plagued by high school dropout rates, chronic unemployment and poor housing conditions.

“My father, my grandfather, fought for this country, and today is the second fight, at the ballot box,” said pro-independence supporter Patrick Watrone.

“Today, us young Kanaks, we have no jobs. If we are the ones who manage the country, we will have more opportunities,” said Fabrice Ude, 28.

But, indigenous people make up less than 50% of the electorate, and some Kanaks back staying part of France, not least due to the €1.3 billion (RM6 billion) the French state hands to the islands every year.

Going it alone, “I’m not sure we have all the assets we need to succeed”, said Marc Gnipate, 62.

Michaele Mikena, 61, also “voted no. I’m not afraid of independence, but I am attached to France. I owe it a lot”.

Under the 1998 deal, further referendums on independence can still be held before 2022. – AFP, November 4, 2018.