A main New Caledonian pro-independence party has decided to boycott this week's Paris talks about the Noumea Accord which paves the way for a referendum on independence by 2018.
The talks bring together the territory's main leaders under the auspices of the French prime minister, Manuel Valls.
However, the Caledonian Union, which is the main Kanak party, has pulled out, citing its objections to the make-up of the electoral roll for the referendum.
It says instead it will send an envoy to the UN next week and call for suspending the Noumea Accord, which is the territory's decolonisation roadmap.