'No' vote ahead in New Caledonia independence referendum: partial results

Partial results in an independence referendum on the South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia on Sunday showed the 'no' camp edging ahead in the vote over whether to break away from France after nearly 170 years.

The results released by France's Ministry for Overseas Territories showed the 'no' vote had 52% support with 226 out of 304 polling stations counted. Votes are still to come in from much of the capital, Noumea, traditionally a bastion of pro-Paris support.