A key party within New Caledonia's pro-independence umbrella group says it is against another deal to succeed the 1998 Noumea Accord which expires in two years.
The Accord was signed by the pro- and anti-independence sides and the French state, setting out a phased and irreversible decolonisation plan which is to culminate and expire with an referendum on independence.
Photo: AFP
The head of the Melanesian Progressive Union, Victor Tutugoro, says he still wants to adhere to the Noumea Accord amid indications from parties across the political spectrum that they lean towards seeking a new accord.
Last year, the anti-independence politician Pierre Frogier called for a new accord to avoid rekindling tension because it is widely believed that a majority is against independence, which would quash separatists' aspirations.
The unrest of the 1980s was contained when the 1988 Matignon Accords were signed for a ten-year period, and they were then followed by the Noumea Accord.
Paris has insisted that it will organise a referendum in 2018 as set out in the accord.