Vote against

New Caledonia votes against independence from France

More than 174,000 voters were eligible to vote in the first such referendum in more than 30 years.

The result has defied predictions as the anti-independence camp hoped for an overwhelming victory to bury the Kanaks' aspirations for a new country once and for all.

The pro-independence side has taken heart from making inroads in the mainly European Noumea area and is determined to invoke the Noumea Accord which allows for another referendum in two years.

Interest has been unprecedented, with turnout at 80 percent and in some electorates soaring to 95 percent.