Gérald Darmanin has ended his two-day visit to New Caledonia saying his door remained open, but that a controversial Constitutional review scheduled in the next few months was still on track.
The endorsement comes as part of preparations to a French government Bill, currently being drafted and to be tabled soon in the French Parliament (in the shape of an "organic law"), to effectively postpone the provincial polls in New Caledonia.
Analysis - After a phase of reluctance, talks on New Caledonia's political future now seem to flourish both within pro and anti-independence parties and sometimes between opposing camps as well.