A senior New Caledonian politician Pierre Frogier has urged France to involve itself in the referendum process of the Noumea Accord.
New Caledonia politician Pierre Frogier Photo: AFP
Two weeks ago, a small majority voted for independence for a second time in two years, in a vote marked by allegations of intimidation by pro-independence supporters.
Frogier said the day was marked by pressures, insults and even threats by the activists.
In an open letter to the overseas minister Sebastien Lecornu, he said it was the minister's imperative obligation to spare fellow citizens fatal clashes.
Frogier, who is a New Caledonian member of the French Senate, said for years the French state had been passive and lacking in authority, instead of helping finding a wise way forward.
He said the 1998 Noumea Accord, to which he was a signatory, relied on confidence and serenity.
However he said the process always risked fracturing with a referendum, which he said wouldn't bring a solution for the future.