From Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron was to speak about the territory's future and its choice in a televised address. The independence vote marked a milestone for the archipelago that lies east of Australia and has sun-kissed lagoons as well as a mining industry for nickel, a metal used in electronics manufacturing. The archipelago became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon's nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony. Most Kanaks have tended to back independence, while most descendants of European settlers have favored keeping the French connection. If voters say no to independence on Sunday, the 1998 agreement allows two more self-determination referendums to be held by 2022.

Source: Fox News November 04, 2018 08:26 UTC