Talks have been underway in Paris to prepare next year's independence referendum in New Caledonia.
Overseas Minister Annick Girardin Photo: AFP
The meeting of the signatories to the Noumea Accord was opened by the overseas minister Annick Girardin because the prime minister Edouard Philippe first needed to chair a deferred cabinet meeting.
The key issue to resolve is the make-up of the restricted roll of those eligible to vote in the referendum - an issue that has been pending since the 1998 Noumea Accord was signed.
Before the talks began, Mr Philippe has said the referendum has to be transparent and monitored to ensure nobody can afterwards call its outcome into question.
Next year's referendum could see the first French territory become independent since Vanuatu won its independence in 1980.