This photograph shows a view of the entrance of the French Constitutional Council in Paris on 8 October 2025. Photo: AFP / Martin Lelievre
France's Constitutional Council on Thursday validated the recent postponement of New Caledonia's local elections, but says this should be the last time those elections are delayed.
The recently-approved postponement of New Caledonia's provincial elections stipulates that the poll, which was originally planned to take place not later than 30 November 2025, will now be held not later than 28 June 2026.
The text, endorsed in the form of an "organic law", was approved by both Houses of the French parliament.
The postponement was motivated by a wish to allow more time for further talks to take place between France and New Caledonia's political parties with the view of achieving conclusive and inclusive talks across the territory's political chessboard.
The talks are focused on New Caledonia's political future.
A recent session held in Bougival (near Paris) in July 2025 produced a document that was initially signed by all of New Caledonia's political parties (both pro-independence and pro-France). But one of the main components of the pro-independence movement, the FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front), later decided to pull out of the "agreement project".
The project envisaged the creation of a "State of New Caledonia", a New Caledonian nationality and the transfer of key powers (such as foreign affairs) from Paris to Nouméa.
Due to the rejection of the FLNKS, and the recent spate of instability in French politics, talks have once again stalled.
The FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) decided to pull out of the Bougival "agreement project". Photo: AFP / Delphine Mayeur
The newly appointed Minister for Overseas Naïma Moutchou is due to arrive in New Caledonia at the weekend with a focus on re-engaging with local political parties.
The approach is described as to "allow the pursuit of talks with a view to reach a consensual agreement on New Caledonia's institutional future".
New Caledonia's local elections were postponed several times since the last time they were held in 2019 (from April 2024 to November 2024, then from December 2024 to November 2025).
This entailed collateral consequences such as the extension of the term of elected members of the three provinces and the local Parliament (the Congress).
The Constitutional Council, in approving the latest postponement, says the cumulated duration of those consecutive delays has now reached over two years (twenty five months), based on "exceptional" and "transitory" grounds and motivations.
"The total duration of this postponement should not be further extended. Any further postponement would clearly be in ignorance of the Constitution", it warns.
This is a reference to Article 3 of the French Constitution and the fact that "Citizens must exercise their right of suffrage with a reasonable periodicity".
The provincial elections in New Caledonia are crucial in the sense that they determine New Caledonia's political structure with a trickle-down effect from members of the three provincial assemblies [North, South and the Loyalty Islands] and, proportionally, the make-up of the local Parliament (the Congress) and then, also proportionally to the makeup of the Congress, the local "collegial" government of the French Pacific territory.
Under the same proportional spirit, a President is elected and portfolios are then allocated.
