New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the Pacific Ocean, 1200 km east of Australia and 670 km southwest of Vanuatu. The main island Grande Terre, is by far the largest at 50 km wide and 500 km long. It contains about nine-tenths of the population and is home to the capital Noumea. New Caledonia has a complex political system based onparliamentarismandrepresentative democracy.In Paris, New Caledonia is represented by two seats at the French National Assembly and two seats in the French Senate. In New Caledonia, the French High Commissioner is France's top representative - akin to a governor. There is also a president who is the Head of the Local Government. Amongst the indigenous Kanak population, there is strong movement for independence from France which has resulted in civil unrest and widespread damage. The economy relies on Nickel exports which have been adversely affected by falling global Nickel prices.
In the division of responsibility between the French state and the Government of New Caledonia, France is responsible for justice, public order, money, international relations and defence. Therefore, it is responsible for the Gendarmerie Nationale (the police) and the French Armed Forces in New Caledonia (FANC). The FANC consists of an Army, Navy and Airforce with a total of 1750 personnel. The Army includes 700 soldiers who are mostly deployed on 4-6-month rotations from France. In 2022-23, FANC participated for the first time in EX PITCH BLACK 22, KAKADU 22 and TALISMAN SABRE 23. They were also deployed to Tonga alongside Australian and Fijian forces in support of OPERATION TONGA ASSIST 22.