France's new Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, has announced the postponement of a provincial election in New Caledonia, a French Pacific territory, originally scheduled for December. The election will now take place a year later due to ongoing violent unrest between communities loyal to Paris and pro-independence Indigenous Kanaks. In his inaugural address to parliament, Barnier also addressed a contentious bill proposed by President Emmanuel Macron, which aimed to amend the constitution to alter voting lists in the territory. He stated that this bill would not be sent to a joint parliamentary meeting for ratification. The Indigenous Kanak population has expressed concerns that changes to the voting registry could disproportionately benefit recent arrivals to the archipelago, further complicating the political landscape in the region.