New Caledonia's Congress voted on December 8 without a clear majority on the proposed anticipated consultation regarding the July-signed Bougival agreement. The session highlighted the ongoing deadlock in the Caledonian issue, four years after the Nouméa Agreement referendums concluded. Kanak independentists protested against the French government's initiative.
On December 8, New Caledonia's Congress, at the request of the French government, reviewed the proposed 'anticipated consultation' on the Bougival agreement, signed in July in the Yvelines. Without expressing a clear majority, this deliberation exposed deep divisions within the local assembly.
It has been four years since December 19, 2021, when the cycle of three referendums outlined in the 1998 Nouméa Agreement ended with votes against independence. As per the agreement, Caledonian partners were to convene to assess the resulting situation. Yet, the independentists' boycott of the 2021 referendum has challenged its legitimacy, further complicating arduous negotiations.
The Nouméa Agreement aimed to build a 'community of destiny' in New Caledonia, but in 2025, this goal remains unfulfilled. The anticipated consultation proposal, put forward on November 14 by Overseas Minister Naïma Moutchou, drew opposition from the Front de libération nationale kanak et socialiste (FLNKS). The group called for a 'peaceful sit-in' outside the Congress during the text's review.
The demonstration was banned by the high commission, which cordoned off the area—a rare step, as political gatherings are typically permitted near the institution. This friction underscores the persistent deadlock in talks on the territory's future.