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 in Bougival, France, by Manuel Valls, Minister of the Overseas, and by various leaders of the New Caledonian political parties. [1] [2] The official name of the agreement is the Agreement Project of the Future of New Caledonia [3] (French : Projet d'accord sur l'avenir de la Nouvelle-Calédonie [4] ).

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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, [5] giving the special collectivity the status of an associated state. [6] 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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Signatories

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Referendum

In New Caledonia they were three independence referendums between 2018 and 2021 under the Nouméa Accord. they were held so the Caledonian people could choose whether to stay part of France or become an independent country. The 2018 and 2020, referendums were rejected by small margins, but in 2021 it was overwhelmingly rejected by 96.5%. [9] The result was due to a very small amount of voters, because of a boycott by many indigenous Kanak voters. The referendums were limited to long-term residents to protect Kanak influence, but the 2021 boycott led to disputes over the vote’s fairness. Since then, political tensions remain, as France has proposed reforms to expand voter eligibility, which independence supporters fear will weaken Kanak rights. Overall, the referendums show deep divisions in New Caledonia’s society and its uncertain future relationship with France. [10] [11]

Reactions

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, praised the agreement as "historic". [5]

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". [12]

See also

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; Desk, Correspondent French Pacific (2025-08-20). "French Overseas Minister in New Caledonia to save Bougival deal". RNZ. Retrieved 2025-09-21.{{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  3. Decloitre, Patrick (14 July 2025). "New Caledonia's political parties commit to 'historic' deal in France". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  4. https://www.info.gouv.fr/upload/media/content/0001/14/7a95111b6d15d77d4d1fb27de34435b8fd4b0669.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. 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.
  6. "New Caledonia's Bougival Accord offers path beyond independence deadlock | Lowy Institute". www.lowyinstitute.org. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  7. "Un accord pour l'avenir de la Nouvelle-Calédonie". info.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  8. "New Caledonia declared a 'state' in autonomy deal, but will stay French" . Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  9. "The future of New Caledonia following the third independence referendum: A French balancing act". 2022.
  10. Sustainability (IDOS), German Institute of Development and. "The significance of the independence referendum for New Caledonia". www.idos-research.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  11. "New Caledonia: France's threat to impose change unilaterally weakened | Lowy Institute". www.lowyinstitute.org. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  12. 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.