Politics of New Caledonia second-class status for French citizens living in New Caledonia who do not possess New Caledonian "citizenship" (because they settled in the territory recently). New Caledonia is also allowed to engage in international cooperation with independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. Finally, the territorial Congress is allowed to pass statutes that are contrary to French law in a certain number of areas. On the other hand, New Caledonia remains an integral part of the French Republic. Inhabitants of New Caledonia are French citizens and carry French passports. They take part in the legislative and presidential French elections. New Caledonia sends two
Biodiversity of New Caledonia while 27 are considered extinct. The Gymnosperms are more common on exposed ridges or next to rivers or creeks in floodplains. Their concentration is important at individual locations which provide lifesaving refugia, because environmental conditions make interspecific competition less severe. Four genera, "Araucaria", "Libocedrus", "Prumnopitys" and "Retrophyllum" that populate the subantarctic Pacific, have endemic species in New Caledonia. The genus "Acmopyle" (Podocarpaceae), currently present in New Caledonia and Fiji, is a fossil in Patagonia. There are 13 endemic species of "Araucaria", including "A. rulei" and "A. columnaris". The island shares some "Araucaria" species with Australia's Norfolk Island. Many, if not