Votes counted in New Caledonia independence ref.

Voters in the French island territory of New Caledonia chose overwhelmingly Sunday to stay part of France, in a referendum boycotted by pro-independence forces and closely watched around the South Pacific. With three-quarters of the vote counted, 91% of those who took part chose to stay in France.

Overall turnout was just 41% - less than half the numbers who showed up in a previous independence referendum last year, where support for breaking away was 46.7%. Keeping New Caledonia is important for French geopolitical ambitions in Indo-Pacific.

The vote was monitored by the U.N. and regional powers. New Caledonia, colonized by Napoleon’s nephew in the 19th century, is a vast archipelago of about 270,000 people east of Australia that is 10 time zones ahead of Paris - and hosts a French military base.