By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

The French Constitutional Council has validated an adjustment to New Caledonia’s restrictions for their forthcoming provincial elections due to be held on 28 June 2026.

The adjustment will now allow more than 10,000 people to cast their votes in the French territory’s local elections.

The ruling from the French body last Thursday comes at the request of the French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, after the amendments in the form of an “organic law”, were endorsed by both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The partial “unfreezing” of New Caledonia’s electoral roll mainly targets New Caledonia’s population who were born after restrictions were imposed as part of the implementation of the Nouméa Accord signed in 1998 and the organic law of 19 March 1999.

Under this “frozen” electoral roll, people described as “natives” (regardless of their ethnicity) who were born after November 1998 could not vote at the local (provincial) elections.

But since 1998, New Caledonia’s demographics have changed and a significant portion of the population was born there and has since reached the voting age of 18.

During parliamentary debates, Lecornu said that the partial “unfreezing” of New Caledonia’s electoral restrictions was to rectify “growing distortions” in New Caledonia’s electoral roll.

From 7 to 17 percent
According to latest statistics, the proportion of “native” people (from all ethnic groups) has grown from seven percent to 17 percent of the population – an estimated 10,500 people.

In its ruling on Thursday 28 May 2026, the Constitutional Council said issues at stake took into account the restrictions imposed by the Nouméa Accord (as enshrined in the Constitution) and the notion of respect for universal suffrage.

The Constitutional Council therefore “considered that the organic law did not disregard the guidelines of the Nouméa Accord and that it was in conformity with the Constitution”.

It concluded that the opening of the restrictions in the new organic law “did not ignore the orientations of the Nouméa Accord”, because the restrictions were still there and that being born in New Caledonia is an indication of a “long term establishment” in New Caledonia.

But it also underlined the necessity of taking New Caledonia’s demographic changes into account.

The change, the Council said, would mitigate the exemptions to the principles of universality and equality of the suffrage brought by the Nouméa Accord’s restrictions.

‘Spouses’ remain excluded
However, another piece of legislation, in the form of an amendment to the same text, was rejected by both Chambers of Parliament.

It aimed at including the “spouses” category in the “special electoral roll” (specifically designed for provincial elections).

The “spouses” category includes about 1700 people who are married to qualified voters — either by legal marriage or by way of a civil union pact (what the French civil status refers to as PACS) for a minimum period of five years.

During heated debates in Parliament earlier this month, pro-independence FLNKS MP Emmanuel Tjibaou repeated that New Caledonia’s electoral roll could not be modified “without the agreement of the colonised people” (the indigenous Kanak population) and that a prior “consensus on a comprehensive agreement” was required.

Lecornu said he was planning to bring New Caledonia’s politicians to negotiate a comprehensive agreement as early as July, straight after the crucial elections on 28 June 2026.

The French PM also promised a comprehensive agreement on New Caledonia’s political future would be finalised “by the end of this year”.

Local reactions
Following the Constitutional Council’s ruling, pro-France MP Nicolas Metzdorf reacted, saying this was “excellent news”, but deplored that “spouses” remained excluded from the vote.

“Shame on those who are hiding behind the law by not supporting [the spouses]. They are psychological hostages by the threat of violence. Our fight for a fully democratic New Caledonia is therefore not over,” he commented on social networks on Friday.

New Caledonia’s senator Georges Naturel (Les Républicains, right-wing), who was the mover of the motion in the French parliament, hailed the Constitutional Council’s ruling, saying the inclusion of “natives” was “a gesture of justice and democratic consistency”.

One of the leaders of moderate pro-independence group “UNI” (Union Nationale pour l’Indépendance, which split from FLNKS in 2024), Victor Tutugoro, said earlier in May the adjustment was a “wise decision” because it was in keeping with the spirit of the 1998 Nouméa Accord.

Those provincial elections are crucial in the sense that they will choose new members for New Caledonia’s three provincial assembles (North, South and the Loyalty outer islands) and then, proportionally, will determine the makeup of the territorial Congress and its “collegial” government, as well as its President.

The very issue of modifications to New Caledonia’s eligibility for voters was perceived as one of the main triggers that led to civil unrest in May 2024. The deadly riots casued 14 deaths, more than 2 billion euros (about NZ$3.9 million) in material damages, a drop of some 13.5 percent in the local GDP, as well as left thousands of people unemployed due to the destruction of hundreds of businesses.

New Caledonia’s provincial elections were postponed three times since 2024, mostly due to the unrest.