If accepted, the Bougival Accord will replace theNouméa Accord and officially recognise a "State of New Caledonia" inside of France,[5] giving thespecial collectivity the status of anassociated state.[6] Residents will have both French and New Caledonian nationalities. The Congress of New Caledonia will adopt a new "fundamental law". The French state will transfer some of its power to New Caledonia, including in diplomacy.
New Caledonian citizenship will be replaced by a New Caledonian nationality. This nationality will be given to any French nationals meeting one of the following criteria:[7]
Being the child of a parent who meets the conditions for acquiring New Caledonian nationality;
Being born in New Caledonia to parents who do not meet the conditions for acquiring New Caledonian nationality and to reside there at the time of the application for nationality (duration to be set by the future constitution);
Having resided in New Caledonia for at least ten years at the time of the application for nationality (integration conditions to be defined by the future constitution);
Having been united for at least 5 years throughmarriage or acivil solidarity pact with a person holding New Caledonian nationality and to have resided in New Caledonia for at least five years at the time of the application.
A constitution called the fundamental law will be adopted by the 6th legislature of the Congress of New Caledonia, which will beelected in May or June 2026.
With a 36 members majority, the Congress of New Caledonia will be able to ask for a transfer of sovereign competency from the French state to the State of New Caledonia. Competencies that could be transferred include defense, currency, security and public order, justice, and legality oversight. In that case, a work committee between the Congress and the French state would be created to study the modalities of such a transfer. A joint project could then be proposed to the New Caledonian in a referendum.
The French state will transfer foreign relations power to the State of New Caledonia, which will conduct diplomatic action with respect for international commitments and thefundamental interests of France (security, defense and vital interests). This transfer of power could potentially allow for New Caledonia's accession as amember state of theUnited Nations.[8]
The French state will stay in charge of security and public order, but a customary police force will be created to enforce rules in customary land.Provinces will also be authorized to create a police force.
In New Caledonia there were three independence referendums between 2018 and 2021 under theNouméa Accord. These were held so that the Caledonian people could choose whether to stay part of France or to become an independent country. The 2018 and 2020, referendums were rejected by small margins, but in 2021 it was overwhelmingly rejected by 96.5%.[9] The result was due to a very small amount of voters, because of a boycott by many indigenous Kanak voters. The referendums were limited to long-term residents to protect Kanak influence, but the 2021 boycott led to disputes over the vote’s fairness. Since then, political tensions remain, as France has proposed reforms to expand voter eligibility, which independence supporters fear will weaken Kanak rights. Overall, the referendums show deep divisions in New Caledonia’s society and its uncertain future relationship with France.[10][11]
The French president,Emmanuel Macron, praised the agreement as "historic".[5]
Emmanuel Tjibaou, pro-independencedeputy, considered that while "this text does not mention the word independence, it opens a structured, progressive, legally regulated and politically legitimate path" to achieve it.[1]
Nicolas Metzdorf, loyalist deputy, said that his group "had to make significant concessions to achieve these gains" but is still "satisfied because it is a status within France", because no new independence referendum will be organized, and because of the "increase in the seats of the South Province in Congress".[12]
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