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New Caledonia is an island archipelago in the south Pacific. It has an incredible diversity of birds and plants. Its history includes a period serving as a 19th century penal colony for the French colonisers and being an allied naval base during World War Two. An agreement signed 26 years ago about how the islands are run is expiring. But talks to make a new one are bogged down, as the opposing sides - French settlers and indigenous Kanak - both demand their rights. For Assignment, Peter Hadfield has been to New Caledonia to see if a new deal can be made.

Presenter: Peter Hadfield
Producer: Peter Hadfield and Caroline Bayley
Editor: Penny Murphy
Sound Engineer: Rod Farquhar
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman

(Image: President Emmanuel Macron on a visit to Noumea, the capital of the French territory New Caledonia. Credit: Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)