PARIS, May 28, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron plans to convene talks in June in a bid to break the deadlock over the future of France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia, where deadly separatist violence broke out last year, his office said Tuesday.

The government will invite the different sides for talks in Paris "in order to clarify economic, political and institutional issues with a view to reaching a shared agreement on the future of the archipelago," Macron's office said.

France has sought to ease tensions in nickel-rich New Caledonia following unrest that broke out in May 2024 that killed more than a dozen people and left billions of dollars in damage.

Riots broke out over Paris's plan for voting reforms that indigenous Kanak people fear would leave them in a permanent minority, crushing their chances of winning independence.

Three days of talks this May failed to bridge major differences between supporters and opponents of independence for the archipelago, which is home to around 270,000 people and located nearly 17,000 kilometres (10,600 miles) from Paris.

The government has proposed a plan that would give a form of dual French and Caledonian nationality and transfer some government responsibilities that anti-separatist politicians say amounts to independence for New Caledonia.

This month's talks were the latest in a series this year that have failed to convince the two sides.

French Overseas Territories Minister Manuel Valls said on Sunday that despite the failures, "the thread of dialogue is not broken".