Artificial Intelligence · New Caledonia
AI regulation in New Caledonia: laws & policy (2026)
New Caledonia shaded by its artificial intelligence status
AI in New Caledonia: no framework, anchored by No AI-specific framework; New Caledonia's sui generis collectivity status excludes it from the EU AI Act and French national AI legislation does not automatically extend to the territory.
New Caledonia is a French collectivité sui generis and an EU Overseas Country and Territory (OCT) associated with the EU under Articles 198-204 TFEU, placing it outside the territorial scope of EU law including the EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689). French national AI strategy and legislation do not automatically apply under the principle of legislative speciality, and the territory's own Congress (Congrès) has enacted no AI-specific law or strategy as of May 2026.
Key points
New Caledonia is formally associated with the EU as an OCT but lies outside the EU internal market; EU regulations, including the EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689, in force August 2024), do not apply directly to OCTs as confirmed by Articles 198-204 TFEU and the Act's own territorial scope in Article 2.
Under Organic Law 99-209 (Noumea Accord framework), New Caledonia's Congress has power to enact 'lois du pays' with force of law in areas within its competence; French national legislation only applies if explicitly extended to the territory, meaning no blanket coverage by French AI-related rules.
France's National AI Strategy (launched 2018, reinforced under France 2030 with approximately €2.5 billion allocated) is a metropolitan policy framework and research-funding instrument; no documented formal extension of this strategy to New Caledonia has been found.
As of May 2026, the New Caledonian Congress has passed no AI-specific legislation, resolution, or published AI strategy. The most recent relevant digital legislation is a 2024 connectivity bill (projet de loi du pays pour une meilleure connectivité, report no. 44/GNC, June 2024) addressing broadband infrastructure, not AI governance.
New Caledonia experienced serious civil unrest from May 2024 linked to electoral reform disputes, disrupting government operations and legislative activity; this context further constrains the territory's near-term capacity to develop dedicated AI governance frameworks.
France's data protection authority CNIL technically has some jurisdiction over New Caledonia for personal data matters, but CNIL's AI-specific guidance and the GDPR framework's reach in the territory are legally distinct from, and do not constitute, a comprehensive AI regulatory regime for New Caledonia.
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