New Caledonia votes to remain French in referendum

Paris, Nov 4 (IANS) Voters in New Caledonia, France's archipelago in the South Pacific, on Sunday decided to remain French in a referendum vote.

According to partial results, about 60 per cent of 175,000 people eligible to vote -- mainly descendants of colonial settlers, said "No" to the call of pro-independence indigenous Kanaks, Xinhua news agency reported.

Turnout in the referendum was 73.68 per cent.

Located more than 16,700 km from the French mainland, New Caledonia was declared a French overseas territory in 1946.

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