Several pro-independence parties in New Caledonia are urging supporters to boycott the second round of the French presidential elections this Sunday.

The election pits far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) candidate Marine Le Pen against the incumbent President Emmanuel Macron.

Before the first round the pro-independence parties advised supporters to vote for a left-oriented candidate.

The best of those were Jean-Luc Melenchon, who narrowly failed to make the second round.

The La France Insoumise (LFI – France Unbowed) leader topped the charts in a majority of overseas territories, scoring particularly high in the Caribbean, in the first round of the presidential election.

President Macron of the centrist LREM party only came first in the Pacific territories.

Daniel Goa, president of the Union Calédonian — largest of the pro-indendence parties — said the poll was an election only for people living in France.

In a short release signed on Wednesday, numerous parties urged a boycott of both Le Pen and Macron.

A member of the committee supporting Melenchon said in a release “The advice not to vote for the right hand side of politics will be respected without hesitation.

“However, voting Emmanuel Macron signifies agreeing with a dumb referendum that happened on December 12 which the president did not stop in defiance of the pleas of the Kanak people.”

During the first round of elections on April 10, Macron was massively ahead of Le Pen in New Caledonia with 40.51 percent of votes.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz