New Caledonia has rejected an independence referendum which would have led it to cut ties with France.
The southwest Pacific archipelago voted on whether it wanted independence from France following a three-decade decolonisation effort.
The "no" camp won 53.26% of the vote, after provisional results earlier showed it was edging ahead.
It means New Caledonia will now remain a French territory.
Image:An independence supporter stands near a flag of the Socialist Kanak National Liberation Front
More than 180,000 voters were asked: "Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?"
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Earlier on Sunday morning, partial results released by France's ministry for overseas territories showed the "no" vote had 52% support with 226 out of 304 polling stations counted.
The independence referendum was part of a process aimed at settling tensions between native Kanaks who want independence and those who want to keep ties with France.
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The vote was the final step of a process that started 30 years ago following years of violence between the two groups.
The Kanaks had once suffered from strict segregation policies and the vote comes at a time when the legacy of colonialism is under scrutiny across the world.
Image:Loyalists hold French national flags
A similar referendum took place two years ago, when 56.4% of voters chose to keep the status quo.
Independence supporters wanted all sovereign powers - including justice, police, military, currency and foreign relations - to be transferred from France to New Caledonia.
New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III and for decades was used as a prison colony.
After the Second World War, it became an overseas territory and all Kanaks were granted French citizenship in 1957.
A "yes" vote would see the South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia sever its links with France after almost 170 years in what would be a significant setback for the French President at a time when he is already under pressure as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The loss of its most important Pacific territory would dent the pride of a former colonial power whose territories once included large areas of the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
The referendum also coincides with China expanding its influence at the expense of Western nations, with Barbados last month confirming it was considering removing the Queen as its head of state.
As of late on Sunday, the estimated turnout was 79.63 percent, according to the Office of the High Commissioner of the Republic in New Caledonia.
More than 180,000 long-term residents of New Caledonia are registered to vote yes or no on the question: "Do you want New Caledonia to gain its full sovereignty and become independent?"
France granted full citizenship to all residents of New Caledonia in 1953, meaning they are able to vote in the French Presidential election and European Parliamentary elections.
Speaking in the French Parliament last week, French Prime Minister Jean Castex pledged to convene a meeting with New Caledonia's political leaders after the result is known.
Mr Castex insisted France was impartial in relation to the referendum process.
Mr Macron would speak after the results from Sunday's referendum were in, he added.
Predecessor as Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, visited New Caledonia the day after the 2018 referendum.
Speaking last week, Thierry Santa, president of New Caledonia and a leading member of The Loyalists coalition which backs sticking with France, said he was pushing to get the vote out.
He told the Guardian: "Amongst the 33,000 people who didn’t vote last time, the vast majority live in greater Noumea.
"I think a proportion of these people, who thought the result would be 70-30, didn’t bother to vote.
"But I think that the result in 2018 really disappointed them, and that will mobilise them to get out and vote the next time."
US President Donald Trump is "not yet out of the woods" but those treating him remain "cautiously optimistic".
Mr Trump was diagnosed with the coronavirus on Thursday evening and was taken to hospital a day later.
In a Saturday night update, his physician Dr Sean Conley said the president is free of fever and improving, adding that he had continued to "do well", having made "substantial progress" since his diagnosis.
Image:Trump supporters are waiting outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where the president is being treated for coronavirus
"He spent much of the afternoon conducting business, and has been up and moving about the medical suite without difficulty.
"While not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic," Dr Conley said.
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"The plan for tomorrow is to continue observation in between doses of remdesivir, closely monitoring his clinical status while fully supporting his conduct of presidential duties."
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Trump: Next few days will be the 'real test'
The update came a few hours after Mr Trump posted a four-minute video on his Twitter page, saying he was "starting to feel good". It was the second video message from Mr Trump since his diagnosis.
The medical team said he was improving and was already talking about returning to the White House but minutes later his chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters that his vital signs during the previous 24 hours had been "very concerning". Mr Meadows later stepped back from his comments.
Mr Trump, 74, is considered to be at higher risk of serious complications from coronavirus due to his age, the outcome of his recent physical tests, and the fact that he is obese.
Meanwhile, questions are being asked about the timeline of Mr Trump's illness, after White House doctors said he began exhibiting "clinical indications" of COVID-19 on Thursday afternoon, earlier than previously thought.
There had been no suggestion Mr Trump thought he was infected before his aide Hope Hicks was diagnosed on Thursday morning.
Mr Trump travelled to a fundraiser in New Jersey later on Thursday, seemingly unaware he may have been infected.
At least seven people who attended a White House event on Saturday 26 September have also tested positive for COVID-19 - after guests were seen hugging, fist-bumping and not wearing masks.
Supporters of Donald Trump have gathered with placards and flowers outside the Walter Reed National Military Hospital near Washington where the president is being treated for coronavirus, and across the United States.
Mr Trump's positive Covid-19 diagnosis was made public early on Friday, and that evening he was transported to the hospital for treatment.
His medical team said late on Saturday that he had made "substantial progress since diagnosis" but was "not out of the woods yet".
The diagnosis has upended the 3 November presidential election campaign.
Supporters outside Walter Reed send their best wishes to the president.
Counter-protesters were also in attendance outside the military hospital.
Around the country rallies were held on Saturday where people wished the president a speedy recovery. In California, they held a pro-Trump car caravan....
Elsewhere in the country, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, they took to their boats...
People also gathered in the New York City borough of Staten Island. The pro-Trump rally had been organised prior to the president's diagnosis.
US President Donald Trump says he is doing well, but that the next few days will be the "real test".
The video, posted on Twitter on Saturday evening, comes after mixed messages earlier in the day about his health, after a Covid-19 diagnosis.
The president's physician said late on Saturday that Mr Trump was doing well and had made "substantial progress since diagnosis".
Mr Trump is spending his second night in hospital.
Dr Sean Conley said in a statement that "while not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic" about the president's condition.
A few hours earlier, in the four-minute video message, Mr Trump, dressed in a suit jacket and shirt with no tie, thanked the doctors and nurses at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center close to Washington DC, where he is being treated.
"I came here, wasn't feeling so well, I'm much better now," he said, later adding: "Over the next period of a few days I guess that's the real test. We'll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days."
He said he wanted to get back on the campaign trail. Mr Trump faces Joe Biden in the 3 November presidential election.
The positive Covid-19 diagnosis, made public by the president in a tweet early on Friday, has upended his campaign and also cast doubt on his attempt to get a new Supreme Court judge confirmed before polling day.
What do we know about Mr Trump's condition?
On Saturday morning, Dr Conley said the president was not being given extra oxygen for now and had been fever-free for 24 hours.
The president is expected to remain at Walter Reed for a "few days", according to the White House.
Dr Conley said he was "cautiously optimistic" about Mr Trump's condition but that he could not give a timetable for his discharge.
However, the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, expressed concern about the president's condition, saying he was not yet on a clear path to recovery.
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He told reporters the president's vital signs over the last 24 hours had been "very concerning" and that the next 48 hours would be critical.
The president, being 74, a man and someone categorised as obese, is in a higher-risk category for Covid-19. He has so far been treated with an experimental drug cocktail injection and antiviral medication remdesivir.
At Saturday's news conference, Dr Conley refused to say whether the president had ever been on oxygen despite being repeatedly questioned. "None at this moment and yesterday with the team, while we were all here, he was not on oxygen," he said.
Shortly afterwards, several US media reported that doctors had given the president supplemental oxygen at the White House on Friday before deciding to transfer him to Walter Reed. It was not clear whether he had trouble breathing and needed it.
In an evening statement, Mr Trump's medical team said the president completed a second dose of remdesivir.
They said he spent most of the afternoon "conducting business and moving about the medical suite without difficulty".
First Lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive for Covid-19, is said to be doing well, and continues to rest at the White House.
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Who else around the president has tested positive?
Dr Conley did not respond to questions about when and where he believed Mr Trump had been infected. A crowded Rose Garden event last weekend, when the president formally announced his nomination of the conservative Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court, is coming under intense focus.
Aside from the president and the first lady, six other people who attended are now confirmed to have the virus. On Saturday, campaign adviser and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie became the latest to report a positive result.
Other people to have tested positive around Mr Trump include close aide Hope Hicks - believed to be the first to show symptoms - campaign manager Bill Stepien and former White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway.
Meanwhile, Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would postpone its work in full session until 19 October, but that work at the Judiciary Committee - which will examine Judge Barrett's nomination - would continue.
Later on Saturday, the senator said in a tweet he had had a phone call with the president, who sounded "well and says he's feeling good".
Mr Trump remains in charge. Vice-President Mike Pence, to whom under the constitution the president would transfer power temporarily should he become too ill to carry out his duties, tested negative.
The president was last seen in public on Friday evening. Before being flown to the military hospital he waved and gave a thumbs-up to reporters but said nothing before boarding his helicopter.
