The French president met with pro- and anti-independence camps in France's nickel-rich South Pacific territory on Wednesday where pro-independence forces are still smarting from a disputed 2021 vote to remain part of France.
NOUMEA, France - French President Emmanuel Macron called for some straight-talking Wednesday as he met with the bitterly divided pro- and anti-independence camps on France's overseas Pacific territory of New Caledonia.
Macron said he was not conducting a negotiation - a process that pro-independence forces have not agreed to - but was rather seeking a "profound, sincere political exchange". The vote outcome has fed ethnic tensions, with the poorer indigenous Kanak community generally favouring independence over the loyalist, wealthier white community.But ballots in 2018 and 2020 were much closer, with anti-independence forces winning between 53% and 57% of the vote.
The referendums marked the end of a political process but no one had really prepared the next steps, Macron said.
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