This reform would allow roughly 60% of those currently prevented from voting to join the electorate[22] and has been decried by independence advocates as a dilution of the indigenous Melanesian Kanak people's political voice.

[23] President Emmanuel Macron visited the island on 22 May[24] and asked local representatives to reach a comprehensive agreement within a month, mentioning the possibility of a referendum concerning Paris' desired changes in voter eligibility rules.

[26] Due to the 9 June dissolution of the National Assembly, Macron announced the de facto suspension of the Constitutional reform while it was impossible to convene the two houses of the French legislature.

[22][40] The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2005 that the restriction did not infringe the right to free elections and did not give rise to discrimination on the grounds of national origin since "New Caledonia's current status reflects a transitional phase prior to the acquisition of full sovereignty and is part of a process of self-determination", with the system then in place being "incomplete and provisional",[20] which has been interpreted to mean that the frozen electorate was validated on the condition that it was only a provisional measure.

[45] The pro-independence movement asked that the third referendum, which it had originally requested, be postponed due to the spread of COVID-19 within their community from September 2021 onward and the resulting impossibility of conducting a campaign while observing the customary Kanak mourning periods.

On 26 December 2023, the Conseil d'État concluded that the current rules infringed significantly on universal suffrage, as they denied the vote to people either born or residing in New Caledonia for several decades.

In its report released mid-March, it noted in particular the pessimistic mood prevalent on the island because of the chaotic political situation and permanent uncertainty about its future, which had led to the emigration of New Caledonians, often those excluded from the electorate, but also of educated Kanaks.

If illegal weapons were included, French authorities estimated that this figure rose to 100,000 firearms, resulting in a high ratio of gun ownership per total population (roughly 286,500 people).

[89][90] Forty-five minutes after imposition of the state of emergency, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced the deployment of the French army to ensure the security of seaports and airports.

[16] On 18 May, French interior minister Gérald Darmanin announced the launch of a major operation aimed at taking total control of the 60 km main road between Nouméa and La Tontouta International Airport.

He evoked the possibility of a referendum concerning Paris' desired changes in voter eligibility rules if the Congress did not reach an agreement, and compared the violence gripping the territory to the riots in the Hexagon after the killing of Nahel Merzouk.

[27] On 19 June, authorities announced the arrest of 11 people, including Christian Tein, the leader of the pro-independence movement CCAT (Field Action Coordination Cell), on suspicion of instigating the violence.

[127] On 22 October, the Court of Cassation announced that it would review the decision by judges in Nouméa to exile five pro-independence activists including CCAT leader Christian Tein without any adversarial debate and the conditions of their transfer to France.

[129] According to Australian peace and conflict studies professor Nicole George and University of Pau and the Adour Region sociologist Évelyne Barthou, Kanaky youth played a major role in leading the protests and violence.

George said that the protests were rooted in "the highly visible wealth disparities" in the territory which “fuel resentment and the profound racial inequalities that deprive Kanak youths of opportunity and contribute to their alienation."

Anthropologist Nathanaëlle Soler identifies the proximity of some of the Loyalist leaders, like Sonia Backès, as well as white militias, with far-right parties, and cites the unwillingness of the French government to recognize colonial history and the "pervasiveness of racism in Nouvelle-Caledonian society" as among the causes of the unrest.

Push factors for emigration have included New Caledonia's restrictive franchise law, economic uncertainty caused by the three independence referenda between 2018 and 2021 and difficulties faced by the territory's nickel industry.

[31] During a live event on the website X, anti-independence politician Deputy Nicolas Metzdorf, representative of New Caledonia's 2nd constituency, called on President Emmanuel Macron to keep the electoral reform going as doing otherwise would be a "political and moral defeat for the Republic".

[174] During Bastille Day on 14 July, Southern Province President Sonia Backès gave a controversial speech criticising the Nouméa Accord and advocating partitioning New Caledonia along provincial lines in light of the 2024 unrest.

He also extended an invitation to New Caledonian political leaders to attend a meeting in Paris to cover various including the constitutional amendments around franchise extension and the current economic crisis in the nickel industry sector.

On 19 May, French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc announced that 600 security personnel were being deployed in an operation to regain control of the highway area between Nouméa and its international airport including removing roadblocks and debris.

[181] In early June 2024, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed that the National Gendarmerie had deployed several armoured vehicles known as "Centaurs" to New Caledonia for the purposes of breaking road blocks and reestablishing public order.

[182] In mid October 2024, French Minister of the Overseas François-Noël Buffet undertook a four-day visit to New Caledonia to urge both pro and anti-independence parties to return to dialogue.

In addition, French Overseas Minister Manuel Valls has engaged with both pro-independence and anti-independence New Caledonian leaders in a series of closed-doors bilateral exchanges in Paris since 4 February.

[184] On 19 May, the presidents of the regional councils of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Réunion as well as representatives from the same regions and French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin put out a statement calling the proposed modifications of the electoral corps without consultation of all involved parties a betrayal of the spirit and text of the Matignon and Nouméa Accords, demanding the immediate retreat of the changes as prerequisite for the restart of peaceful dialogue and denouncing the security measures taken by the government as repressive and risking the start of a spiral of violence.

While Guianan deputy Jean-Victor Castor warned: "We're not in the presence of a social movement similar to that set off by the pension reform law, we're dealing with a people demanding their full sovereignty" and "whether you want it or not, Kanaky was independent before the arrival of French colonists!.

"[186] Following the outbreak of unrest, Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai urged France to accept an FLNKS proposal to establish a "dialogue and mediation mission" to discuss how peace and normalcy could be restored to the territory.

[199] During the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM 10) in Tokyo in mid-July 2024, the Melanesian Spearhead Group issued a joint statement objecting to the "apparent militarisation" of New Caledonia.

The delegation toured Nouméa and visited New Caledonian political parties, youth, private sector, health and education leaders in order to understand local perspectives and help the Fourum support ongoing dialogue about the territory's future.

Pro-independence representative Viro Xulue, the deputy secretary-general of the Customary Senate, petitioned the committee to recommend that France end its military occupation and hold a new independence referendum.