Bougival Accord

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The Bougival Accord (French : Accord de Bougival) of 2025 is an agreement between the French Republic, New Caledonian pro-independence activists, and New Caledonian loyalists, following the 2024 crisis in the archipelago. It was signed on 12 July 2025 by Manuel Valls, Minister of the Overseas, and by various leaders of the New Caledonian political parties. [1] The official name of the agreement is the Agreement Project of the Future of New Caledonia [2] (French : Projet d'accord sur l'avenir de la Nouvelle-Calédonie [3] ).

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The agreement will have to be enshrined into the French Constitution by the parliament, and then, in February 2026, validated by a local referendum.

If accepted, the Bougival Accord will replace the Nouméa Accord and officially recognise a "State of New Caledonia" inside of France, [4] giving the special collectivity the status of an associated state.[ citation needed ] Residents will have both French and New Caledonian nationalities. The Congress of New Caledonia will adopt a new "fundamental law". The French state will transfer some of its power to New Caledonia, including in diplomacy.

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Referendum

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The French president, Emmanuel Macron, praised the agreement as "historic". [4]

Emmanuel Tjibaou, pro-independence deputy, considered that while "this text does not mention the word independence, it opens a structured, progressive, legally regulated and politically legitimate path" to achieve it. [1]

Nicolas Metzdorf, loyalist deputy, said that his group "had to make significant concessions to achieve these gains" but is still "satisfied because it is a status within France", because no new independence referendum will be organized, and because of the "increase in the seats of the South Province in Congress". [7]

References

  1. 1 2 Dom, Evelyn Ann-Marie (2025-07-13). "New Caledonia to become a 'state', but will remain French". euronews. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  2. Decloitre, Patrick (14 July 2025). "New Caledonia's political parties commit to 'historic' deal in France". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  3. https://www.info.gouv.fr/upload/media/content/0001/14/7a95111b6d15d77d4d1fb27de34435b8fd4b0669.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  4. 1 2 France-Presse, Agence (2025-07-13). "New Caledonia to be declared a state in 'historic' agreement – but will remain French". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  5. "Un accord pour l'avenir de la Nouvelle-Calédonie". info.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  6. "New Caledonia declared a 'state' in autonomy deal, but will stay French" . Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  7. Tromeur, Françoise (2025-07-12). "Accord Nouvelle-Calédonie : entre "courage", "satisfaction" et "concessions", les partenaires politiques réagissent". Nouvelle-Calédonie la 1ère (in French). Retrieved 2025-07-13.