The World - News from Sept. 29, 1985
The 90,000 registered voters of France’s territory of New Caledonia cast ballots today for regional representatives in a crucial election that could determine whether the South Pacific islands remain tied to France or head toward independence. The election is expected to be determined along bitterly divided racial lines. The islands’ original Melanesians want independence, while the main party of the whites and Polynesians insist the territory remain a part of France. The French government hopes the election will lead the territory to a special status of independence with legal links to France.
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