Leading French politicians have welcomed New Caledonia's rejection of independence.
More than 96 percent voted against independence in a poll boycotted by the pro-independence camp, which refuses to recognise the result.
President Emmanuel Macron says with the end of the Noumea Accord, the territory is free of the binary choice between yes and no.
But a left wing presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who had backed calls for a postponement, says the result is not legitimate.
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People prepare to casts their ballot for the referendum on independence at a polling station of the City Hall in Noumea, on the French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia on December 12, 2021. Photo: Theo Rouby / AFP