Forty years after the quasi-civil war of 1984-1988, New Caledonia has been plunged into violence again since May 13. One of the main reasons for this anger is the same as that which triggered the violence of the 1980s: the issue of who has the right to vote on the future of New Caledonia.

Colonized by France in 1853, the Pacific archipelago is torn between the loyalists, mostly European, and the pro-independence parties, mainly indigenous Kanak people. A "special electoral body" was set up for the local elections, to ensure that people who had arrived in New Caledonia only a few months or years ago, mostly Europeans, would not be able to influence important decisions in the archipelago.

In this three-minute video, Le Monde looks at how this electoral particularity, enshrined in the historic Matignon (1988) and Nouméa (1998) accords, came to be. We also explain how the new constitutional reform launched by the government, condemned by New Caledonia's pro-independence movement, plans to modify the current voting criteria and expand the electoral body.