Constitutional Bill on New Caledonia

This constitutional bill seeks to incorporate into the 1958 French Constitution the terms of the Bougival Agreement of July 2025 and the complementary Élysée-Oudinot Agreement of January 2026. These agreements were reached following years of negotiations over the political future of New Caledonia, a French special collectivity in the Pacific. The bill proposes the creation of a State of New Caledonia with its own legal personality distinct from the French Republic, alongside the establishment of a Caledonian nationality. This would represent a significant constitutional evolution, granting New Caledonia a sui generis status beyond its current special collectivity framework. Key provisions include the broadening of the electoral roll in New Caledonia, allowing more residents to participate in local elections — a longstanding point of contention between loyalist and independence movements. The bill also provides for the transfer of competences in international relations to New Caledonian institutions. If adopted, this reform would amend the French Constitution and mark the most significant change in the status of New Caledonia since the Nouméa Accord of 1998, potentially setting the territory on a path toward greater autonomy or a form of associated statehood with France.

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