The turnout in the second round of France's presidential elections was just over 56% just before 5:00 in New Caledonia, an increase of more than four points from the first round.
The French High Commission says in the first round, participation at the same time was 52.04%.
The 253 polling stations were opened in heavy rain.
Due to the weather, residents of small Kanak tribes of the east coast have had difficulty getting to polling stations.
In the first round, Nicolas Sarkozy took 49.63% of the vote in New Caledonia, against 24.91% for Francois Hollande.
In French Polynesia turnout was up more than 5 percent, to 50.5%.
