New Caledonia is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 220 km (140 mi) southwest of Vanuatu and 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia. Located 16,100 km (10,000 mi) from Metropolitan France, it forms a sui generis collectivity of the French Republic, a legal status unique in overseas France and enshrined in a dedicated chapter of the French Constitution.
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.
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.
Future Together was a center-right political party in New Caledonia supporting the maintenance of political and administrative ties with France.
The Caledonian Union is a pro-independence and the oldest political party in New Caledonia. In the latest legislative elections of May 10, 2009, the party won around 11.65% of the popular vote, and 9 out of 54 seats in the Territorial Congress.
Marie-Noëlle Thémereau is a French New Caledonian politician who served as the former president of the government of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean about 1,210 km east of Australia. She has been a member of the loyalist Future Together party.
The Nouméa Accord of 1998 is a promise by the French Republic to grant increased political power to New Caledonia and its indigenous population, the Kanaks, over a twenty-year transition period. It was signed 5 May 1998 by Lionel Jospin, and approved in a referendum in New Caledonia on 8 November, with 72% voting in favour. Under the accord, three more referendum votes, on whether to remain a special collectivity of France or become an independent state, have been held.
Caldoche is the name given to inhabitants of the French overseas collectivity of New Caledonia of European ethnic origin who have settled in New Caledonia since the 19th century. The formal name to refer to this particular population is Calédoniens, short for the very formal Néo-Calédoniens, but this self-appellation technically includes all inhabitants of the New Caledonian archipelago, not just the Caldoche.
The North Province is one of three administrative divisions in New Caledonia. It corresponds to the northern and northeastern portion of the New Caledonian mainland.
The French sui generis collectivity of New Caledonia is divided into three provinces, which in turn are divided into 33 communes. There is also a system of eight tribal areas for the indigenous Kanak people, and three decentralized subdivisions.
La Foa is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.
Two flags are in use in New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France. Up to 2010, the only flag used to represent New Caledonia was the flag of France, a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue, white, and red known to English speakers as the French Tricolour or simply the Tricolour. However, in July 2010, the Congress of New Caledonia voted in favour of a wish to fly the Kanak flag of the independence movement FLNKS alongside the French Tricolour. The wish, legally non-binding, proved controversial. A majority of New Caledonian communes, but not all, now fly both flags, the rest flying only the French Tricolour.
Loyalty Islands Province is one of the three top-level administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia. It encompasses the Loyalty Islands archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, located northeast of the New Caledonian mainland of Grande Terre.
The National Union for Independence is a militant socialist pro-independence alliance of political parties in New Caledonia. It is a component of the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) along with the Caledonian Union.
Philippe Gomès is a New Caledonian politician and, from 5 June 2009 to 11 March 2011, President of the Government of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. He served as a member of the National Assembly from 2008 until 2022.
In New Caledonia, a sui generis collectivity of France, French is the official and predominant language. The collectivity is also home to about thirty New Caledonian languages, which form a branch of the Southern Oceanic languages. They are spoken mainly by the indigenous Kanaks of the islands.
Sonia Lagarde is a French New Caledonian politician and the current mayor of Nouméa. She has been a member of the National Assembly for New Caledonia's 1st constituency since 2012.
Thierry Santa is a French politician in New Caledonia who served the 9th President of the Government of New Caledonia, elected by the cabinet on 6 July 2019. He left office on 22 July 2021. Santa is the leader of The Rally political party since 2018. He previously served as President of the Congress of New Caledonia from 2015 to 2018 and secretary general of The Rally from 2013 to 2016.
Déwé Gorodey was a New Caledonian teacher, writer, feminist and politician. She was active in agitating for independence from France in the 1970s. She published poetry, short stories and novels. From 1999, she was a member of the New Caledonian government, representing the pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front. From April 2001 to June 2009, she served almost continuously as Vice President of the Government of New Caledonia.
Sonia Backès is a French politician in New Caledonia. She is the current leader of the Caledonian Republicans party and the President of the Provincial Assembly of South Province since 17 May 2019.
