New Caledonia is a
sui generis collectivity of overseas France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, south of Vanuatu, about 1,210ย km (750ย mi) east of Australia, and 17,000ย km (11,000ย mi) from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. French people, especially locals, call Grande Terre "
Le Caillou". It is one of the European Unionโs Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), but is not part of the European Union.