While heavily dependent on state handouts, the Pacific islands of New Caledonia have long felt overlooked by Paris.
But the French government has hailed the “vote of confidence”.
Home to 269,000 people, New Caledonia is one of a handful of French island outposts – a legacy of the country’s 19th-century empire – which retain strategic importance.
“The New Caledonians have chosen to remain French… It is a vote of confidence in the French republic, its future and its values,” President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised speech from the Elysée Palace, as he expressed his “immense pride” that the French had “taken this step together”.
More than 80 percent of the nearly 175,000 registered voters went to the polls, ignoring a call to boycott the ballot by some leaders of the indigenous Kanak separatist groups.
Separatists has repeatedly urged voters to choose self-determination for ‘Kanaky,’ their name for New Caledonia, and free themselves from the shackles of the “colonial” authorities in Paris.
Voters had been asked the question: “Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?”
Some 56.7 percent of voters said “no,” while 43.3 percent said “yes”.
But the unexpectedly tight result shows that separatists have expanded their influence, and could demand greater autonomy from the mainland despite the “no” vote.
A “yes” vote would have deprived Paris of a foothold in the Indo-Pacific region where China is gaining ground, and dented the pride of France, a former colonial power whose reach once spanned the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific Ocean.
Many also feared the referendum would re-ignite tensions between the Kanak people and the white population, which has settled since France annexed the islands in 1853.
More than 1,000 gendarmes were deployed to the streets to maintain order, and the carrying of firearms and the sale of alcohol were banned during the weekend.
However few violent incidents were reported. Several cars – seven, according to police sources – were torched in the hours following the announcement of the result.
Mr Macron said he understood the disappointment of those who had voted in favour of independence, but added that the French state would ensure “liberty, equality and fraternity” for everyone.
“The only loser is the temptation of contempt, division, violence and fear; the only winner is the process of peace and the spirit of dialogue,” the 40-year-old leader said.
Located some 18,000 kilometres from the French mainland, New Caledonia is home to a quarter of the world’s known supplies of nickel – a vital electronics component.
Despite this, islanders are heavily dependent on state handouts – £1.14bn (€1.3 billion) a year – especially the native Kanak community, which is plagued by high school dropout rates, chronic unemployment and poor housing conditions.
These differences caused ethnic tensions in the 1980s which claimed more than 70 lives.
This led to the 1998 Noumea Accord which paved the way for a steady devolution of powers as well as Sunday’s referendum.