New Caledonia polls open in first local vote in the French territory since 2019
Voters in New Caledonia went to the polls on Sunday for the first provincial elections since 2019, with about 192,000 eligible to elect 76 councillors. The vote, delayed from 2024 due to unrest, will shape negotiations with France, with independence as the defining issue. Turnout stood at 54.42% an hour before polls closed.