For the third time in as many years, New Caledonia has voted to reject independence and remain a French territory. The Sunday referendum vote was welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron. “The men and women of New Caledonia have chosen to stay French, they have chosen freely,” he said in a televised address.

Though the election only saw a 44-percent turnout, an overwhelming 96.5 percent of voters voted to remain French. The referendum is the result of a 1998 agreement among local leaders and the French government for up to three votes on the matter. The last two referendums saw much closer results: in November 2018, 56.7 percent voted to remain; and in October 2020, a tally of 53.5 percent did so. This final referendum saw boycotts from pro-independence parties who pointed to the coronavirus pandemic and low turnout as signs of an unfair vote.

Now that three votes have been expended, Macron and Sébastian Lecornu, the French government minister for overseas territories, will work with local leaders “to build a response to the institutional and legal questions” raised by the independence movement, Politico Europe reported.