President Emmanuel Macron is imposing a state of emergency in the French archipelago of New Caledonia after pro-independence protests left at least three dead and disrupted nickel production.
In November 2021, "a group of 64 Pacific experts from around the world" signed an opinion piece in Le Monde calling for the French government to postpone the referendum, suggesting that failure to include the Kanak population could lead to a repeat of the civil unrest of the 1980s.
Reading up on the last independence vote: