New Caledonia

The French overseas minister has reinstated a New Caledonian committee of elders to help guide public debate.

The French overseas minister Sebastien Lecornu has warned New Caledonians against blackmail by saying violence - as seen in the 1980s - could return.

Tension is rising again in New Caledonia over the sale of the Vale nickel plant.

A law is being proposed in New Caledonia to broaden access to the medical profession for doctors trained in New Zealand, Australia and Fiji.

France and Australia have affirmed their intention to promote New Caledonia's further integration into the Pacific region.

A New Caledonian mayor has suggested that a new approach may be needed for the next independence referendum after the disturbances at the last vote earlier this month.

There's growing expectation in New Caledonia that a successful bid will be finalised shortly for the take over of the Vale nickel plant.

The campaign accounts of the Caledonia Together party for last year's provincial elections have been voided.

A senior New Caledonian politician Pierre Frogier has urged France to involve itself in the referendum process of the Noumea Accord.

The court case brought by French Polynesia's pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru against the French prosecutor has been deferred until 4 November.

The French overseas minister has started consultations with New Caledonian leaders from his quarantine quarters at the French High Commission.

France's highest administrative court has again ordered an urgent upgrade of New Caledonia's insalubrious main prison.