Referendum in France in 1988 on New Caledonia's self-determination

On November 6, 1988 , a referendum was held in France in 1988 on New Caledonia's self-determination . The so-called Matignon Agreement , in which the parties to the dispute in New Caledonia agreed to hold a referendum on the independence of New Caledonia from France after a ten-year transition phase, was voted on. 80 percent of those who voted approved the agreement. The turnout was only 36.09 percent.

Historical background

New Caledonia was founded in 1853 at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. occupied by France as a colony. The French met with considerable resistance from the local Melanesian population, the Kanaks , who were ultimately subdued. The French colonial administration promoted the emigration of settlers from metropolitan France. Some settlers from other regions also migrated there, supported by the French colonial administration. B. from Polynesia, Indonesia, China and India. The immigrants and their descendants ultimately made up more than half of the island's population, so that the native Kanak people became a minority in their own country.

FLNKS party flag

After the founding of the United Nations in 1945, New Caledonia was entered into the list of territories to be decolonized ( territories without self-government ) by Resolution 66 (I) of December 14, 1946 of the UN General Assembly . The French government initially complied with the obligation set out in the UN Charter (Article 73 (e)) to provide the UN Secretary-General with regular information on the status of the territory . On October 27, 1946, however, New Caledonia was declared a French overseas territory and in 1947 was removed from the UN list of territories without self-government. From the 1970s onwards, the independence movement led by the Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation (FLNKS) increased its violence . The United Nations then put New Caledonia back on the list of sovereign territories without self-government by resolution 41/41 of December 2, 1986 of the UN General Assembly. The French government responded by holding a referendum on September 13, 1987 in New Caledonia on possible independence. This referendum was boycotted by the FLNKS and the vast majority of the Kanak people. With a low turnout, a large majority of 98% of those who voted were in favor of remaining with France. The United Nations did not recognize the referendum and continued to insist on classifying New Caledonia as a "non-self-governed area".

On August 21, 1988, an agreement was signed in the Hôtel Matignon between the French government under Prime Minister Michel Rocard , the loyalist RPCR ( Le Rassemblement pour la Calédonie dans la France ) and the independent Canadian FLNKS. This so-called Matignon Agreement ( Accords de Matignon-Oudinot ) provided for an extensive amnesty for acts of terrorism in New Caledonia in recent years. Second, it set a kind of timetable with which New Caledonia was to be prepared for potential independence. In 10 years (in 1998) an independence referendum should take place on the island. Before that, the Kanakian, economically underdeveloped regions of New Caledonia should be supported in their development with French financial help.

After the agreement reached, President François Mitterrand, by decree of October 5, 1988, called a referendum across France on the treaty.

Question of the referendum

The question asked of the voters was:

«Approvez-vous le projet de loi soumis au peuple français par le président de la République et portant dispositions statutaires et preparatoires à l'autodétermination de la Nouvelle-Calédonie? »

"Do you agree to the bill that was presented to the French people by the President of the Republic and that contains the legal and preparatory provisions for the self-determination of New Caledonia?"

- Question from the referendum of November 6, 1988

The answer to the question was “Oui” or “Non”.

Result

The question of the referendum was approved by a clear majority in all departments. 80 percent of those who voted voted “Yes”. The voter turnout was very low at 36.9 percent. The only administrative unit in which a voter turnout of over 50% was achieved was New Caledonia. In New Caledonia, approval was also by far the lowest at 57%. The number of invalid votes was unusually high at 11.8%.

Majorities based on departments and overseas possessions

Turnout by department and overseas possessions

Department	electoral legitimate	electoral participation	Percent yes	Percent no	Percent Invalid
Ain	284,300	32.5	81.9	18.1	11.8
Aisne	364.127	37.7	77.9	22.1	12.5
Allier	264,623	38.4	84.0	16.0	13.1
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence	96,967	41.1	80.6	19.4	12.5
Hautes-Alpes	80,300	40.0	81.4	18.6	13.4
Alpes-Maritimes	643,637	32.9	67.7	32.3	10.3
Ardèche	202.780	39.1	84.2	15.8	13.6
Ardennes	193.030	34.5	80.1	19.9	12.1
Ariège	107,481	45.3	85.7	14.3	9.8
Aube	191,545	34.1	77.0	23.0	13.9
Aude	215,477	46.1	83.5	16.5	10.7
Aveyron	211,869	41.8	85.7	14.3	18.0
Bouches-du-Rhône	1,080,093	35.2	72.5	27.5	8.5
Calvados	413.410	36.8	81.2	18.8	11.3
Cantal	124,564	31.6	82.1	17.9	15.1
Charente	250.224	37.9	83.2	16.8	13.4
Charente-Maritime	379.295	34.9	81.2	18.8	12.0
Cher	224.143	37.5	81.2	18.8	13.3
Corrèze	184,358	41.0	86.1	13.9	15.7
Corse-du-Sud	91,445	24.1	81.4	18.6	4.6
Upper Corsica	113,436	26.1	83.9	16.1	4.9
Côte-d'Or	312,042	35.0	77.6	22.4	11.8
Côtes-du-Nord	411,798	41.3	86.8	13.2	12.0
Creuse	110,521	35.3	86.3	13.7	13.6
Dordogne	300,424	44.0	81.4	18.6	15.3
Doubs	306.255	38.1	82.2	17.8	12.1
Drôme	274.289	38.2	81.6	18.4	12.1
Your	335.094	36.8	77.6	22.4	14.0
Eure-et-Loir	255.619	38.4	77.1	22.9	14.0
Finistère	613,327	37.7	85.3	14.7	10.4
Gard	392.983	36.7	79.6	20.4	10.4
Haute-Garonne	581,674	44.0	81.6	18.4	10.2
Gers	137,488	42.1	82.9	17.1	13.7
Gironde	772,582	38.5	79.9	20.1	10.3
Herault	514.159	37.7	77.0	23.0	9.1
Ille-et-Vilaine	530,669	37.6	85.4	14.6	11.3
Indre	181.070	39.6	80.5	19.5	15.0
Indre-et-Loire	350.024	37.8	80.6	19.4	12.2
Isère	611,554	36.4	84.3	15.7	10.0
law	172.851	38.3	82.5	17.5	14.1
Country	232.844	43.6	82.2	17.8	13.3
Loir-et-Cher	215,621	40.0	78.7	21.3	14.5
Loire	475,522	33.9	83.4	16.6	12.6
Haute Loire	155,670	35.5	83.8	16.2	16.2
Loire-Atlantique	703.244	37.7	85.1	14.9	11.0
Loiret	363.483	38.5	78.2	21.8	13.9
Lot	121,132	47.7	84.1	15.9	15.5
Lot-et-Garonne	223.081	41.4	77.8	22.2	14.2
Lozère	56,749	37.8	82.0	18.0	17.0
Maine-et-Loire	460.013	36.3	82.7	17.3	14.8
Some	339,301	34.6	80.7	19.3	13.9
Marne	352.281	32.6	78.9	21.1	12.7
Haute-Marne	146.818	36.3	77.6	22.4	15.0
Mayenne	196.259	36.4	81.2	18.8	17.4
Meurthe-et-Moselle	468.095	36.7	81.0	19.0	10.9
Meuse	139.921	38.3	77.8	22.2	14.3
Morbihan	441.937	36.9	82.6	17.4	12.4
Moselle	665.783	32.5	79.3	20.7	11.0
Nièvre	175,847	41.2	83.2	16.8	11.9
North	1,629,827	39.5	77.5	22.5	13.1
Oise	442.042	38.2	75.9	24.1	12.2
Orne	209.174	36.5	79.8	20.2	14.5
Pas-de-Calais	983.499	42.5	80.0	20.0	13.9
Puy-de-Dôme	399.861	37.3	85.0	15.0	12.4
Pyrénées-Atlantiques	411,345	39.9	79.7	20.3	12.5
Hautes-Pyrénées	170,949	40.9	83.7	16.3	11.1
Pyrénées-Orientales	250,706	37.0	75.7	24.3	10.2
Bas-Rhin	614.776	30.3	78.5	21.5	11.4
Haut-Rhin	433,988	31.7	78.5	21.5	12.5
Rhône	876.207	35.6	79.2	20.8	10.5
Haute-Saône	165.217	40.5	79.1	20.9	14.2
Saône-et-Loire	394.861	32.6	84.3	15.7	14.1
Sarthe	361.989	36.6	82.8	17.2	13.0
Savoie	229,622	34.0	83.8	16.2	10.8
Haute-Savoie	335.838	33.5	81.2	18.8	11.8
Paris	1,227,555	36.9	78.4	21.6	9.1
Seine-Maritime	803.970	35.7	80.9	19.1	8.8
Seine-et-Marne	607.571	36.4	77.4	22.6	11.3
Yvelines	771.190	38.7	76.8	23.2	10.8
Deux-Sèvres	249.364	37.0	84.5	15.5	14.8
Somme	380.114	40.8	77.4	22.6	17.7
Camouflage	252,416	45.1	80.4	19.6	15.9
Tarn-et-Garonne	144,866	43.3	77.8	22.2	14.4
Var	539.833	34.6	67.5	32.5	9.3
Vaucluse	302,668	39.0	74.0	26.0	12.4
Vendée	363.938	36.9	82.5	17.5	16.4
Vienne	269.176	37.9	82.1	17.9	14.2
Haute-Vienne	261.168	43.7	85.7	14.3	13.9
Vosges	273,922	38.5	79.2	20.8	16.1
Yonne	219,700	37.7	77.3	22.7	12.9
Territoire de Belfort	84,383	41.1	80.3	19.7	12.4
Essonne	634.416	38.9	81.4	18.6	9.8
Hauts-de-Seine	813,519	38.1	78.7	21.3	9.7
Seine-Saint-Denis	706.986	33.7	81.6	18.4	8.3
Val-de-Marne	696.792	37.1	80.8	19.2	9.2
Val d'Oise	568.476	36.3	79.6	20.4	9.6
Guadeloupe	196.779	10.3	90.6	9.4	9.3
French Guyana	29,938	19.8	87.0	13.0	7.2
Martinique	215.415	16.4	94.1	5.9	8.9
Reunion	292,485	22.5	86.5	13.5	7.8
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon	4,444	23.9	93.6	6.4	7.7
Mayotte	22,000	27.6	95.2	4.8	0.9
New Caledonia	89,373	62.4	57.0	43.0	8.0
French Polynesia	107,893	20.3	81.6	18.4	7.9
Wallis and Futuna	8,313	48.1	81.5	18.5	1.9
French abroad	162.131	19.2	75.8	24.2	6.0
total	38,025,823	36.9	80.0	20.0	11.8
↑ a b c The percentages for yes and no votes refer to the valid votes. The invalid votes include the votes that are invalid for formal reasons, as well as the empty ballot papers.

Web links

• Lorenz Gonschor: Decentralization or Decolonization? The Evolution of the Political Status of the French Overseas Territories in the Pacific , Pacific Observatory, Dossier No. 62, June 2002 (Review)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Non-Self-Governing Territories. UN.org, accessed April 13, 2018 . 
2. ↑ CHAPTER XI: DECLARATION REGARDING NON-SELF-GOVERNING TERRITORIES. United Nations, accessed April 13, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Consultation de la population de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Université de Perpignan, accessed on April 13, 2018 (French). 
4. ↑ ^{a b} M. Rafiqul Islam: The 1988 Paris Agreement on the future status of New Caledonia . In: QUT Law Review . tape 4 , December 1988, ISSN  2201-7275 , pp. 229–241 , doi : 10.5204 / qutlr.v4i0.308 (English).
5. ↑ ^{a b} Proclamation of the résultats du référendum du 6 November 1988 . In: Conseil Constitutionel (ed.): Journal offiel de la République Française . November 10, 1988, p. 14123–14125 (French, online [PDF]).