Pacific

Address by French PM Edouard Philippe to New Caledonia Congress

11:49 am on 6 December 2017

The French prime minister Edouard Philippe has taken the initiative in preparing next year's independence referendum in New Caledonia.

At the end of a four-day visit to the three provinces, he gave a much awaited speech to the Congress in Noumea to state the parameters of the process.

The vote next year will conclude the 1998 Noumea Accord and put New Caledonia on a new trajectory.

Walter Zweifel listened in.

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Edouard Philippe in New Caledonia. Photo: AFP