The South Province () is one of three
administrative subdivisions in
New Caledonia. It corresponds to the southern and southwestern portion of the
New Caledonian mainland.
Overview
It is by far the most economically developed and most urbanized part of the
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
and indeed in the entire
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, ...
n region. The South Province is also the only part of New Caledonia - and Melanesia - where ethnic
Melanesians
Melanesians are the predominant and indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in a wide area from Indonesia's New Guinea to as far East as the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji. Most speak either one of the many languages of the Austronesian language fam ...
do not constitute an absolute majority of the population.
The provincial assembly and executive are in
Nouméa
Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, an ...
. The administrative services of the French state, however, are located in
La Foa, with a Deputy Commissioner of the Republic (''commissaire délégué de la République''), akin to a
subprefect
A subprefect is a high government official in several countries, such as Brazil and France.
In Brazil, a subprefect (''subprefeito'') is the highest official of a subprefecture, which is a subdivision of certain large municipalities (São Paulo, ...
of
metropolitan France
Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...
, in residence there. La Foa was chosen by the French central State in the late 1980s to counterbalance the overwhelming weight of Nouméa in New Caledonia
The central State administrative services in La Foa are not to be confused with the central State administrative services in Nouméa. The former manage local matters at the provincial level, whereas the latter, with the High Commissioner of the Republic in New Caledonia at their head, manage territorial matters for the whole of New Caledonia.
Provincial Assembly
Of the 40 seats in the provincial assembly, the
Rally-UMP holds 15, the
Caledonia Together has 12, the
Future Together has 5, the
Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front has 4, the
Movement for Diversity has 2, the Union for a Caledonian Destiny has 1 and there is 1
miscellaneous right
Miscellaneous right (', ''DVD'') in France refers to right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically suppor ...
(ex-
Rally for Caledonia).
Notable people
*
Ilaïsaane Lauouvéa - former assembly member
See also
*
Politics of New Caledonia
References
Provinces of New Caledonia
Geography of New Caledonia
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