The Conseil d’État today rejected the appeals brought by the Caledonian Union against the Government's decision to publish the text of the "Bougival Agreement" on the future of New Caledonia in the Official Journal of 6 September 2025. It noted that publication was inseparable from the Government's tabling of a constitutional bill on New Caledonia in Parliament, and that, pursuant to the principle of separation of powers, the court could not rule on the matter.
Discussions between the Government and local political parties in New Caledonia, which began in February 2025, had resulted in the signing of a "draft agreement on the future of New Caledonia" on 12 July 2025, in Bougival (Yvelines). This document was published under the title "Accord de Bougival" in the Official Journal of the French Republic on 6 September 2025, but without mentioning either its signatories or the reservation that preceded these signatures and specified its scope.
Union Calédonienne, the political movement that had taken part in the discussions leading to the agreement, petitioned the Conseil d’État to cancel its publication in the Official Journal and, pending the court's decision on the merits, to suspend its publication as a matter of urgency and inform the public that the published document was incomplete.
The Conseil d’État noted that the Government's decision to publish the "Bougival Agreement" in the Official Journal was inseparable from the tabling in Parliament of a constitutional bill on New Caledonia, which refers to the publication of the agreement in the Official Journal and also provides for a local referendum on the legislation.
However, pursuant to the principle of separation of powers, decisions that affect the relationship between the executive power and Parliament, such as those concerning constitutional reform initiatives, do not fall within the jurisdiction of the administrative courts.
For these reasons, the appeals lodged by the Caledonian Union were dismissed.
Decision Nos. 508850, 509132, 509181, Caledonian Union, 26 November 2025