President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that he would not "force the issue" of electoral reform in New Caledonia, which has sparked major violence in the Pacific archipelago.

"I am committed to ensuring that this reform will not be forced through," said the head of state at a press conference at the end of a day on site, where he met with local elected representatives, economic players and young Caledonians.

The reform of the electoral body was adopted last week by the National Assembly, after the Senate, and still has to be ratified by Congress.

Emmanuel Macron had planned to convene Congress by the end of June at the latest to pass a draft reform of the Constitution along these lines, but the adoption of this bill by the deputies triggered violence unseen in 40 years in New Caledonia, where pro-independence groups are opposed to the freeing of the electoral body.

(Written by Nicolas Delame and Blandine Hénault, edited by Kate Entringer)