New Caledonia

The Fijian prime minister says he will take a back seat in the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum fact-finding mission to New Caledonia.

The French Pacific archipelago was on the agenda of a top meeting in Paris on Tuesday evening, Paris time. Audio

Christian Tein, the head of the CCAT (Field Action Coordination Unit), had been accused by the French of masterminding the violence that spread across New Caledonia in May.

Islands Business journalist Nic Maclellan is back in Noumea for the first time since the rioting began on 13 May. "There's a long way to go before the French can bring people together," he said Audio

"The time has come to return to dialogue, discussion, exchange, after the terrible (events) New Caledonia has been through." Audio

The much-awaited travel has now been agreed to take place from 27 to 29 October, New Caledonia's President Louis Mapou confirmed on Sunday.

France's Minister for Overseas François-Noël Buffet said on top of the some €400 million already disbursed in emergency assistance, France remains committed to New Caledonia.

France's new Minister for Overseas, François-Noël Buffet, arrived in New Caledonia on Wednesday, five months after violent riots broke out.

The deal signed with Azerbaijan caused outrage at the time within the Congress's loyalists ranks.

The company said the extracting operations were no longer possible due to numerous, "massive", continuous blockades and attacks over the past six months.

François-Noël Buffet said the visit comes in support of all players in New Caledonia in the wake of the crisis triggered by riots.

French Polynesia and New Caledonia are this week sending delegations to New York to attend the UN's 4th committee on decolonisation.

Analysis - Michel Barnier's announcements Tuesday on New Caledonia has triggered a series of mixed reactions across the French Pacific archipelago's political spectrum.