New Caledonia is a sui generis collectivity of overseas France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, south of Vanuatu, about 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia, and 17,000 km (11,000 mi) from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. French people, especially locals, call Grande Terre le Caillou, a nickname also used more generally for the entire New Caledonia. Pro-independence Kanak parties use the name (la) Kanaky to refer to New Caledonia, a term coined in the 1980s from the ethnic name of the indigenous Melanesian Kanak people who make up 41% of New Caledonia's population. New Caledonia is one of the European Union's Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), but it is not part of the European Union.
The geography of New Caledonia (Nouvelle-Calédonie), an overseas collectivity of France located in the subregion of Melanesia, makes the continental island group unique in the southwest Pacific. Among other things, the island chain has played a role in preserving unique biological lineages from the Mesozoic. It served as a waystation in the expansion of the predecessors of the Polynesians, the Lapita culture. Under the Free French it was a vital naval base for Allied Forces during the War in the Pacific.
New Caledonia is a French sui generis collectivity with a system of government based on parliamentarism and representative democracy. The President of the Government is the head of government, and there is a multi-party system, with Executive power being exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the executive and the Congress of New Caledonia. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The CFP franc is the currency used in the French overseas collectivities of French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna. The initials CFP originally stood for colonies françaises du Pacifique but since 2022 is officially Collectivités françaises du Pacifique. Its ISO 4217 currency code is XPF. The CFP franc is subdivided into 100 centimes, although there are no centime denominations. The currency is issued by Institut d'émission d'outre-mer (IEOM).
Nouméa is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian, Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu and Kanaks who work in one of the South Pacific's most industrialised cities. The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour that serves as the chief port for New Caledonia.
Dumbéa is a commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The population of the commune was 35,873 according to the 2019 census.
The University of New Caledonia UNC is a French university which is part of the Academy of New Caledonia located in Nouméa and Koné.
The New Caledonia national rugby union team represents New Caledonia in rugby union. The team has been playing international rugby since the 1960s. All their matches have been against other teams from Oceania.
Nouméa Magenta Airport is a domestic airport on the main island of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The airport is 3 km (2 mi) east-northeast of the city centre of Nouméa, the capital, approximately 38 km (24 mi) southeast of La Tontouta International Airport. In 2017, 428,679 passengers used the airport.
Rugby union in New Caledonia is a minor but growing sport.
Jean Lèques was a New Caledonian politician. He served as mayor of Nouméa from 1986 to 2014; between 1999 and 2001 he was the first sitting president of the government of New Caledonia under the Organic Law no. 99-209.
Overseas France consists of 13 French territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonization. Most, but not all, are part of the European Union.
An independence referendum was held in New Caledonia on 4 November 2018. Voters were given the choice of remaining part of France or becoming an independent country.
An independence referendum was held in New Caledonia on 4 October 2020. The poll was the second to be held under the terms of the Nouméa Accord, following a similar referendum in 2018.
James Louis Daly was a New Caledonian businessman and politician. He served as a member of the General Council from 1930 until 1940, and again from 1953 until 1957.
An independence referendum was held in New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific, on 12 December 2021. The vote was the third and final one to be held under the terms of the Nouméa Accord, following votes in 2018 and 2020.
The Maritime Museum of New Caledonia is a maritime museum in New Caledonia. It is largely dedicated to the history of French colonial exploration in the Pacific and the collection includes objects retrieved from the frigates Astrolabe and Boussole, which were wrecked under the captaincy of Jean-François de Galaup de Lapérouse.
In May 2024, protests and riots broke out in New Caledonia, a sui generis collectivity of overseas France in the Pacific Ocean. The violent protests have led to ten deaths, the declaration of a state of emergency on 16 May, deployment of the French army, and the block of the social network TikTok.
Guyane La Première, is a French overseas departmental free-to-air television channel available in the collectivity of New Caledonia. It is operated by the overseas unit of France Télévisions.
