The Bulletin
Men's Weekly


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New Caledonia votes to stay with France, but it's a hollow victory that will only ratchet up tensions

  • Written by David Robie, Associate Editor, Pacific Journalism Review / Te Koakoa, Auckland University of Technology
New Caledonia votes to stay with France, but it's a hollow victory that will only ratchet up tensionsClotilde Richalet/AP

“Loyalist” New Caledonians handed France the decisive victory in the third and final referendum on independence it wanted in Sunday’s vote.

But it was a hollow victory, with pro-independence Kanaks delivering Paris a massive rebuke for its three-decade decolonisation strategy.

The referendum is likely to be seen...

Read more: New Caledonia votes to stay with France, but it's a hollow victory that will only ratchet up...