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84-689: Like many of the other communes and islands of French Polynesia , the area was first settled by early Polynesians from Asia around 1,000 years ago. These people have already settled on the Marquesas Islands and then they traveled on their sea canoes to the Society Islands . They had lived off of the fish and fruits of Tahiti . Most of the early Polynesians had built houses on the beach. Later on, they had built houses further inland because of high tide. Captain James Cook came on his expedition to chart

168-515: A no-confidence vote in the Assembly of French Polynesia on 31 August after the longtime former president of French Polynesia, Gaston Flosse , hitherto opposed to independence, sided with his long enemy Oscar Temaru to topple the government of Gaston Tong Sang. Oscar Temaru, however, had no stable majority in the Assembly of French Polynesia, and new territorial elections were held in February 2008 to solve

252-593: A tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen climate classification Am ). The average annual temperature in Punaʻauia is 26.6 °C (79.9 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,677.0 mm (66.02 in) with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in March, at around 27.7 °C (81.9 °F), and lowest in August, at around 25.1 °C (77.2 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Punaʻauia

336-530: A xenophobic discourse and fanning the flame of nationalism. All the indigenous languages of French Polynesia are Polynesian . French Polynesia has been linguistically diverse since ancient times, with each community having its own local speech variety. These dialects can be grouped into seven languages on the basis of mutual intelligibility : Tahitian , Tuamotuan , Rapa , Austral , North Marquesan , South Marquesan , and Mangarevan . Some of these, especially Tuamotuan, are really dialect continua formed by

420-705: A colony in 1888 (eight years after the Windward Islands) after many native resistances and conflicts called the Leewards War , lasting until 1897. In the 1880s, France claimed the Tuamotu Archipelago , which formerly belonged to the Pōmare Dynasty , without formally annexing it. Having declared a protectorate over Tahuata in 1842, the French regarded the entire Marquesas Islands as French. In 1885, France appointed

504-622: A colony of the same name Various sultanates in the Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia): "Protection" was the formal legal structure under which French colonial forces expanded in Africa between the 1830s and 1900. Almost every pre-existing state that was later part of French West Africa was placed under protectorate status at some point, although direct rule gradually replaced protectorate agreements. Formal ruling structures, or fictive recreations of them, were largely retained—as with

588-476: A deconcentrated subdivision of the government of French Polynesia. These are called circonscriptions ('districts'). The head of a circonscription is the tavana hau , known as administrateur territorial in French ('territorial administrator'), but the Tahitian title tavana hau is most often used. The president of French Polynesia's government appoints the tavana hau , who directly reports to

672-453: A governor and established a general council, thus giving it the proper administration for a colony. The islands of Rimatara and Rūrutu unsuccessfully lobbied for British protection in 1888, so in 1889 they were annexed by France. Postage stamps were first issued in the colony in 1892. The first official name for the colony was Établissements de l'Océanie (Establishments in Oceania); in 1903

756-418: A gunboat in 1838. In 1842, Tahiti and Tahuata were declared a French protectorate , to allow Catholic missionaries to work undisturbed. The capital of Papeetē was founded in 1843. In 1880, France annexed Tahiti, changing the status from that of a protectorate to that of a colony . The island groups were not officially united until the establishment of the French protectorate in 1889. After France declared

840-664: A large land territory (particularly in the larger islands such as Tahiti or Nuku Hiva ) or because they are made up of atolls distant from each other (particularly in the Tuamotu archipelago), which led to the creation of associated communes for each inhabited atoll. 17 communes (out of French Polynesia's 48 communes) have banded together in three separate communities of communes . These indirectly elected intercommunal councils are still relatively new in French Polynesia, and unlike in metropolitan France and its overseas regions it

924-772: A local assembly and government, French Polynesia is not in a free association with France, like the Cook Islands with New Zealand . As a French overseas collectivity, the local government has no competence in justice, university education, security and defense. Services in these areas are directly provided and administered by the Government of France, including the National Gendarmerie (which also polices rural and border areas in metropolitan France), and French military forces . The collectivity government retains control over primary and secondary education, health, town planning, and

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1008-474: A mayor in charge of managing local affairs within the commune. Municipal elections occur every six years on the same date as in the rest of the French Republic (the last municipal elections took place in 2020 ). 30 communes are further subdivided in 98 associated communes which have each a delegate mayor and a registry office. These 30 communes were subdivided in associated communes either because they have

1092-403: A patchwork of different dialects. The distinction between languages and dialects is notoriously difficult to establish, and so some authors may view two varieties as dialects of the same language, while others may view them as distinct languages. In this way, North and South Marquesan are often grouped together as a single Marquesan language, and Rapa is often viewed as part of Austral subfamily. At

1176-522: A protectorate over Tahiti in 1842 and fought a war with Tahiti (1844–1847) , the British and French signed the Jarnac Convention in 1847, declaring that the kingdoms of Raiatea , Huahine and Bora Bora were to remain independent from both powers and that no single chief was to be allowed to reign over the entire archipelago. France eventually broke the agreement, and the islands were annexed and became

1260-528: A second vessel of the Félix Éboué class, ( Philip Bernardino ), is to be deployed in Tahiti to further reinforce France's maritime surveillance capabilities in the region. As of 2021, two smaller port and coastal tugs (RPCs), Maroa and Manini , were also operational in the territory. Flottille 35F of French naval aviation deploys a detachment of three AS 365N Dauphin helicopters in Tahiti. The helicopters carry out

1344-450: A state. Multiple regions—such as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria , the Colony and Protectorate of Lagos , and similar—were subjects of colonial protection. Conditions of protection are generally much less generous for areas of colonial protection. The protectorate was often reduced to a de facto condition similar to a colony, but with the pre-existing native state continuing as

1428-483: A status of expanded autonomy for French Polynesia in 2004, failed to secure an absolute majority in the 2004 French Polynesian legislative election , resulting in deadlock at the Assembly of French Polynesia . Flosse's longtime opponent, the pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru , whose pro-independence coalition had won one less seat than Flosse's party in the Assembly, was nonetheless elected president of French Polynesia by

1512-400: A steady grunting of staccato, nonlexical syllables. Protectorate List of forms of government A protectorate , in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its internal affairs, while still recognizing

1596-723: A total land area of 3,521 square kilometres (1,359 sq mi), scattered over more than 2,000 km (1,200 miles) of ocean. There are 121 islands in French Polynesia and many more islets or motu s around atolls . The highest point is Mount Orohena on Tahiti. It is made up of five archipelagos. The largest and most populated island is Tahiti, in the Society Islands. Aside from Tahiti, some other important atolls, islands, and island groups in French Polynesia are: Ahē , Bora Bora , Hiva ʻOa , Huahine , Maiʻao , Maupiti , Mehetiʻa , Moʻorea , Nuku Hiva , Raʻiātea , Tahaʻa , Tetiʻaroa , Tubuai and Tūpai . French Polynesia

1680-484: A variety of roles in the territory or may be embarked on the frigate Prairial as required. The National Gendarmerie deploys some 500 active personnel and civilians, plus around 150 reservists, in French Polynesia. The patrol boat Jasmin of the Maritime Gendarmerie is also based in the territory and is to be replaced by a new PCG-NG patrol boat in about 2025–2026. The islands of French Polynesia make up

1764-422: A very weak protectorate surrendering control of its external relations but may not constitute any real sacrifice, as the protectorate may not have been able to have a similar use of them without the protector's strength. Amical protection was frequently extended by the great powers to other Christian (generally European) states, and to states of no significant importance. After 1815, non-Christian states (such as

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1848-494: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . French Polynesia French Polynesia ( / ˌ p ɒ l ɪ ˈ n iː ʒ ə / POL -ih- NEE -zhə ; French : Polynésie française [pɔlinezi fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ; Tahitian : Pōrīnetia Farāni ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole overseas country . It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) in

1932-454: Is composed of two CN-235 tactical transport aircraft drawn from the Air Force's ET 82 "Maine" transport squadron. As of mid-2024, three principal French Navy vessels are based in the territory, including: the surveillance frigate Prairial , the patrol and support ship Bougainville and Teriieroo to Teriierooiterai , a vessel of the new Félix Éboué class of patrol vessels. In 2026

2016-558: Is different from a colony as it has local rulers, is not directly possessed, and rarely experiences colonization by the suzerain state. A state that is under the protection of another state while retaining its "international personality" is called a "protected state", not a protectorate. Protectorates are one of the oldest features of international relations, dating back to the Roman Empire . Civitates foederatae were cities that were subordinate to Rome for their foreign relations. In

2100-404: Is home to four terrestrial ecoregions: Marquesas tropical moist forests , Society Islands tropical moist forests , Tuamotu tropical moist forests , and Tubuai tropical moist forests . French Polynesia is divided in five administrative subdivisions ( subdivisions administratives ): The five administrative subdivisions are not local councils; they are solely deconcentrated subdivisions of

2184-424: Is not mandatory for the communes in French Polynesia to join an intercommunal council. The three intercommunal councils in existence as of 2022, all formed on a voluntary basis, were: These communities of communes, as elsewhere in the French Republic, are not full-fledged territorial collectivities , but only federations of communes. From a legal standpoint, the only territorial collectivities in French Polynesia are

2268-555: The 2013 French Polynesian legislative election by a wide margin, only two weeks before the United Nations re-registered French Polynesia on its list of non-self governing territories. This was interpreted by political analysts as a rejection by French Polynesian voters of Temaru's push for independence as well as the consequence of the socioeconomic crisis affecting French Polynesia after years of political instability and corruption scandals. Gaston Flosse, whose anti-independence party

2352-644: The Chinese Qing dynasty ) also provided amical protection of other, much weaker states. In modern times, a form of amical protection can be seen as an important or defining feature of microstates . According to the definition proposed by Dumienski (2014): "microstates are modern protected states, i.e. sovereign states that have been able to unilaterally depute certain attributes of sovereignty to larger powers in exchange for benign protection of their political and economic viability against their geographic or demographic constraints". *protectorates which existed alongside

2436-903: The Dominican Republic and Nicaragua through the Bryan–Chamorro Treaty . Some agencies of the United States government , such as the Environmental Protection Agency , refer to the District of Columbia and insular areas of the United States—such as American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands —as protectorates. However, the agency responsible for the administration of those areas, the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) within

2520-525: The French municipal elections held in March 2008 , several prominent mayors who were member of the Flosse-Temaru coalition lost their offices in key municipalities of French Polynesia, which was interpreted as a disapproval of the way Gaston Tong Sang, whose party French Polynesian voters had placed first in the territorial elections the month before, had been prevented from becoming president of French Polynesia by

2604-471: The Middle Ages , Andorra was a protectorate of France and Spain . Modern protectorate concepts were devised in the nineteenth century. In practice, a protectorate often has direct foreign relations only with the protector state, and transfers the management of all its more important international affairs to the latter. Similarly, the protectorate rarely takes military action on its own but relies on

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2688-469: The South Pacific Ocean . The total land area of French Polynesia is 3,521 square kilometres (1,359 sq mi), with a population of 278,786 (Aug. 2022 census) of which at least 205,000 live in the Society Islands and the remaining population lives in the rest of the archipelago. French Polynesia is divided into five groups of islands: Among its 121 islands and atolls, 75 were inhabited at

2772-692: The Tuāmotu-Gambier administrative division, and the Marquesas Islands administrative division, the 2nd representing much of Tahiti outside Papeete and the Austral Islands administrative subdivision, and the 3rd representing the Leeward Islands administrative subdivision and the south-western suburbs of Papeete. French Polynesia also sends two senators to the French Senate . The defence of

2856-441: The suzerainty of a more powerful sovereign state without being a possession. In exchange, the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations depending on the terms of their arrangement. Usually protectorates are established de jure by a treaty . Under certain conditions—as with Egypt under British rule (1882–1914)—a state can also be labelled as a de facto protectorate or a veiled protectorate . A protectorate

2940-468: The world music scene in 1992, recorded by French musicologist Pascal Nabet-Meyer with the release of The Tahitian Choir 's recordings of unaccompanied vocal Christian music called himene tārava . This form of singing is common in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands, and is notable for a unique drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, a characteristic formed by several different voices, accompanied by

3024-590: The 1980s, but in absolute terms their population peaked at the 2007 census, when 24,265 lived in French Polynesia (not counting their children born there). With the local economic crisis, their population declined to 22,278 at the 2012 census, and 22,387 at the 2017 census. At the 1988 census, the last census which asked questions regarding ethnicity, 66.5% of people were ethnically unmixed Polynesians , 7.1% were ethnically Polynesians with light European or East Asian mixing, 11.9% were Europeans (mostly French ), 9.3% were people of mixed European and Polynesian descent,

3108-456: The 2007 census), 0.6% reported a Chinese dialect (41% of which was Hakka ) (down from 1.0% at the 2007 census), and 0.4% another language (more than half of which was English ) (down from 0.5% at the 2007 census). At the same census, 95.2% of people whose age was 15 or older reported that they could speak, read and write French (up from 94.7% at the 2007 census), whereas only 1.3% reported that they had no knowledge of French (down from 2.0% at

3192-462: The 2007 census). 86.5% of people whose age was 15 or older reported that they had some form of knowledge of at least one Polynesian language (up from 86.4% at the 2007 census but down from 87.8% at the 2012 census), whereas 13.5% reported that they had no knowledge of any of the Polynesian languages (down from 13.6% at the 2007 census but up from 12.2% at the 2012 census). French Polynesia appeared in

3276-527: The 2017 census. Tahiti , which is in the Society Islands group, is the most populous island, being home to nearly 69% of the population of French Polynesia as of 2017 . Papeete , located on Tahiti, is the capital of French Polynesia. Although not an integral part of its territory, Clipperton Island was administered from French Polynesia until 2007. Hundreds of years after the Great Polynesian Migration , European explorers began traveling through

3360-564: The Assembly in June 2004 thanks to the votes of two non-aligned Assembly members. This resulted in several years of political instability, as neither the pro- nor the anti-independence camps were assured of a majority, depending on the votes of smaller non-aligned parties representing the interests of the distant islands of French Polynesia (as opposed to Tahiti). Temaru was toppled from the presidency of French Polynesia in October 2004, succeeded by Flosse who

3444-665: The French central State. At the head of each administrative subdivision is an administrateur d'État ('State administrator'), generally simply known as administrateur , also sometimes called chef de la subdivision administrative ('head of the administrative subdivision'). The administrateur is a civil servant under the authority of the High Commissioner of the French Republic in French Polynesia in Papeete . Four administrative subdivisions (Marquesas Islands, Leeward Islands, Tuamotu-Gambier, and Austral Islands) each also form

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3528-467: The Pacific islands during 1770. He also came with explorer Englishman Samuel Wallis to explore. James Cook later went to Australia . Charles Darwin came to the Society Islands in the 1800s from the western Pacific. Punaʻauia experienced a major population boom in the late 1990s. At the 2022 census it had a population of 28,781, making it the second most populous commune in French Polynesia. Punaʻauia has

3612-541: The Society Islands around AD 300. European encounters began in 1521 when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan , sailing at the service of the Spanish Crown , sighted Puka-Puka in the Tuāmotu-Gambier Archipelago . In 1606 another Spanish expedition under Pedro Fernandes de Queirós sailed through Polynesia sighting an inhabited island on 10 February which they called Sagitaria (or Sagittaria), probably

3696-691: The US had the right to intervene in Cuba to preserve its independence, among other reasons (the Platt Amendment had also been integrated into the 1901 constitution of Cuba ). Later that year, Panama and the US signed the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty , which established the Panama Canal Zone and gave the US the right to intervene in the cities of Panama and Colón (and the adjacent territories and harbors) for

3780-420: The agent of indirect rule . Occasionally, a protectorate was established by another form of indirect rule: a chartered company , which becomes a de facto state in its European home state (but geographically overseas), allowed to be an independent country with its own foreign policy and generally its own armed forces. In fact, protectorates were often declared despite no agreement being duly entered into by

3864-510: The anti-independence camp, and Fritch was excluded from Gaston Flosse's party in September 2015, before founding his own anti-independence party, Tapura Huiraatira , in February 2016. His new party managed to keep a majority in the Assembly of French Polynesia, and Fritch remained president of French Polynesia. Political stability has returned in French Polynesia since the split of the anti-independence camp in 2015–2016. Tapura Huiraatira won 70% of

3948-614: The collectivity is the responsibility of the French Armed Forces . Some 900 military personnel are deployed in the territory – incorporating the Pacific-Polynesian Marine Infantry Regiment (RIMaP-P) – along with modest air transport and surveillance assets. The latter include three Falcon 200 Gardian maritime surveillance aircraft from French Naval Aviation , which are to be replaced by the more modern Falcon 2000 Albatros starting in 2025. The former

4032-658: The environment. The highest representative of the State in the territory is the High Commissioner of the Republic in French Polynesia ( French : Haut commissaire de la République en Polynésie française ). French Polynesia also sends three deputies to the French National Assembly in three constituencies, the 1st representing Papeete and its north-eastern suburbs, plus the commune (municipality) of Mo'orea-Mai'ao ,

4116-671: The general council was changed to an advisory council and the colony's name was changed to Établissements Français de l'Océanie (French Establishments in Oceania). In 1940, the administration of French Polynesia recognised the Free French Forces and many Polynesians served in World War II. Unknown at the time to the French and Polynesians, the Konoe Cabinet in Imperial Japan on 16 September 1940 included French Polynesia among

4200-537: The government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Assembly of French Polynesia (the territorial assembly). Political life in French Polynesia was marked by great instability from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s. The anti-independence right-wing president of French Polynesia, Gaston Flosse , who had been in power since 1991, had supported the resumption of the French nuclear weapons tests in 1995, and had obtained from his longtime friend and political ally Jacques Chirac , then president of France,

4284-554: The ground. This aspect of history is referred to as the Scramble for Africa . A similar case is the formal use of such terms as colony and protectorate for an amalgamation—convenient only for the colonizer or protector—of adjacent territories, over which it held ( de facto ) sway by protective or "raw" colonial power. In amical protection—as of United States of the Ionian Islands by Britain—the terms are often very favourable for

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4368-658: The island of Rekareka to the southeast of Tahiti. In 1722, Dutchman Jakob Roggeveen while on an expedition sponsored by the Dutch West India Company, charted the location of six islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago and two islands in the Society Islands, one of which was Bora Bora . British explorer Samuel Wallis became the first European navigator to visit Tahiti in 1767. French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville also visited Tahiti in 1768, while British explorer James Cook arrived in 1769, and observed

4452-490: The last minute alliance between Flosse and Temaru's parties. Eventually, on 15 April 2008 the government of Gaston Flosse was toppled by a constructive vote of no confidence in the territorial assembly when two members of the Flosse-Temaru coalition left the coalition and sided with Tong Sang's party. Tong Sang's majority in the territorial assembly was very narrow, and he was toppled in February 2009, succeeded by Temaru (supported again by Flosse). Oscar Temaru's return to power

4536-485: The low-level authority figures in the French Cercles —with leaders appointed and removed by French officials. The German Empire used the word Schutzgebiet , literally protectorate, for all of its colonial possessions until they were lost during World War I , regardless of the actual level of government control. Cases involving indirect rule included: Before and during World War II , Nazi Germany designated

4620-708: The maintenance of public order. The 1904 constitution of Panama , in Article 136, also gave the US the right to intervene in any part of Panama "to reestablish public peace and constitutional order." Haiti later also became a protectorate after the ratification of the Haitian–American Convention (which gave the US the right to intervene in Haiti for a period of ten years, which was later expanded to twenty years through an additional agreement in 1917) on September 16, 1915. The US also attempted to establish protectorates over

4704-459: The many territories which were to become Japanese possessions , as part of the " Eastern Pacific Government-General " in the post-war world . However, in the course of the war in the Pacific the Japanese were not able to launch an actual invasion of the French islands. In 1946, Polynesians were granted French citizenship and the islands' status was changed to an overseas territory; the islands' name

4788-767: The overseas collectivity of French Polynesia and the 48 communes. Total population was 278,786 according to the August 18, 2022 census, 68.7% of whom lived on the island of Tahiti alone. The urban area of Papeete, the capital city, has 136,771 inhabitants (2017 census). At the 2017 census, 89.0% of people living in French Polynesia had been born there (up from 87.3% in 2007); 8.1% had been born in Metropolitan France (down from 9.3% in 2007); 1.2% were born elsewhere in overseas France (down from 1.4% in 2007); and 1.7% were from foreign countries (down from 2.0% in 2007). The population of natives of Metropolitan France living in French Polynesia has declined in relative terms since

4872-440: The political crisis. The party of Gaston Tong Sang won the territorial elections, but that did not solve the political crisis: the two minority parties of Oscar Temaru and Gaston Flosse, who together had one more member in the territorial assembly than the political party of Gaston Tong Sang, allied to prevent Gaston Tong Sang from becoming president of French Polynesia. Gaston Flosse was then elected president of French Polynesia by

4956-405: The president. The Windward Islands, due to their proximity to Papeete, do not form a deconcentrated subdivision of the government of French Polynesia. The 5 administrative subdivisions are themselves divided in 48 communes . Like all other communes in the French Republic, these are municipalities in which local residents with either a French or another EU citizenship elect a municipal council and

5040-423: The protection relationship is not usually advertised, but described with euphemisms such as "an independent state with special treaty relations" with the protecting state. A protected state appears on world maps just as any other independent state. International administration of a state can also be regarded as an internationalized form of protection, where the protector is an international organisation rather than

5124-426: The protection through a bilateral agreement with the protector, while international mandates are stewarded by the world community-representing body, with or without a de facto administering power. A protected state has a form of protection where it continues to retain an "international personality" and enjoys an agreed amount of independence in conducting its foreign policy. For political and pragmatic reasons,

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5208-402: The protector for its defence. This is distinct from annexation , in that the protector has no formal power to control the internal affairs of the protectorate. Protectorates differ from League of Nations mandates and their successors, United Nations trust territories , whose administration is supervised, in varying degrees, by the international community . A protectorate formally enters into

5292-400: The protectorate. The political interest of the protector is frequently moral (a matter of accepted moral obligation, prestige, ideology, internal popularity, or dynastic , historical, or ethnocultural ties). Also, the protector's interest is in countering a rival or enemy power—such as preventing the rival from obtaining or maintaining control of areas of strategic importance. This may involve

5376-558: The region, visiting the islands of French Polynesia on several occasions. Traders and whaling ships also visited. In 1842, the French took over the islands and established a French protectorate that they called Établissements français d'Océanie (EFO) (French Establishments/Settlements of Oceania). In 1946, the EFO became an overseas territory under the constitution of the French Fourth Republic , and Polynesians were granted

5460-528: The right to vote through citizenship. In 1957, the EFO were renamed French Polynesia. In 1983 French Polynesia became a member of the Pacific Community , a regional development organization. Since 28 March 2003, French Polynesia has been an overseas collectivity of the French Republic under the constitutional revision of article 74, and later gained, with law 2004-192 of 27 February 2004, an administrative autonomy, two symbolic manifestations of which are

5544-555: The rump of occupied Czechoslovakia and Denmark as protectorates: Some sources mention the following territories as de facto Russian protectorates: After becoming independent nations in 1902 and 1903 respectively, Cuba and Panama became protectorates of the United States . In 1903, Cuba and the US signed the Cuban–American Treaty of Relations , which affirmed the provisions of the Platt Amendment , including that

5628-401: The same time, Ra'ivavae is often viewed as distinct from them. French is the sole official language of French Polynesia. An organic law of 12 April 1996 states that "French is the official language, Tahitian and other Polynesian languages can be used." At the 2017 census, among the population whose age was 15 and older, 73.9% of people reported that the language they spoke the most at home

5712-510: The seats in the Assembly of French Polynesia at the 2018 French Polynesian legislative election , defeating both Oscar Temaru's pro-independence party and Gaston Flosse's anti-independence party, and Édouard Fritch was re-elected president of French Polynesia by the Assembly in May 2018. By 2022, Édouard Fritch was the longest-serving president of French Polynesia since Gaston Flosse in the 1990s and early 2000s. Between 1946 and 2003, French Polynesia had

5796-441: The so-called Demis (literally meaning "Half"), and 4.7% were East Asians (mainly Chinese ). Chinese, Demis, and the white populace are essentially concentrated on the island of Tahiti, particularly in the urban area of Papeete, where their share of the population is thus much greater than in French Polynesia overall. Despite a long history of ethnic mixing, ethnic tensions have been growing in recent years, with politicians using

5880-643: The state supposedly being protected, or only agreed to by a party of dubious authority in those states. Colonial protectors frequently decided to reshuffle several protectorates into a new, artificial unit without consulting the protectorates, without being mindful of the theoretical duty of a protector to help maintain a protectorate's status and integrity. The Berlin agreement of February 26, 1885, allowed European colonial powers to establish protectorates in Black Africa (the last region to be divided among them) by diplomatic notification, even without actual possession on

5964-404: The status of an overseas territory ( territoire d'outre-mer , or TOM ). In 2003, it became an overseas collectivity ( collectivité d'outre-mer , or COM). Its statutory law of 27 February 2004 gives it the particular designation of overseas country inside the Republic ( pays d'outre-mer au sein de la République , or POM), but without legal modification of its status. Despite

6048-507: The terms of Article 74 of the French constitution and the Organic Law 2014–192 on the statute of autonomy of French Polynesia, politics of French Polynesia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic French overseas collectivity, whereby the President of French Polynesia is the head of government , and of a multi-party system . Executive power is exercised by

6132-516: The territorial assembly on 23 February 2008 with the support of the pro-independence party led by Oscar Temaru, while Oscar Temaru was elected speaker of the territorial assembly with the support of the anti-independence party led by Gaston Flosse. Both formed a coalition cabinet. Many observers doubted that the alliance between the anti-independence Gaston Flosse and the pro-independence Oscar Temaru, designed to prevent Gaston Tong Sang from becoming president of French Polynesia, could last very long. At

6216-656: The title of the President of French Polynesia and its additional designation as an overseas country . Anthropologists and historians believe the Great Polynesian Migration commenced around 1500 BC as Austronesian peoples went on a journey using celestial navigation to find islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The first islands of French Polynesia to be settled were the Marquesas Islands in about 200 BC. The Polynesians later ventured southwest and discovered

6300-552: The transit of Venus . He would stop in Tahiti again in 1773 during his second voyage to the Pacific, and once more in 1777 during his third and last voyage before being killed in Hawaii. In 1772, the Spanish Viceroy of Peru Don Manuel de Amat ordered a number of expeditions to Tahiti under the command of Domingo de Bonechea who was the first European to explore all of the main islands beyond Tahiti. A short-lived Spanish settlement

6384-495: Was 35.5 °C (95.9 °F) on 25 March 2016; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 17.0 °C (62.6 °F) on 16 August 1997. The Aremiti ferry is the main ferry that sails to Moʻorea and a few other Society Islands . The ferry is white with red stripes. The other is the Moorea Ferry which is white on the top and blue on the bottom. Punaʻauia is twinned with: This French Polynesia -related geography article

6468-452: Was French (up from 68.6% at the 2007 census), 20.2% reported that the language they spoke the most at home was Tahitian (down from 24.3% at the 2007 census), 2.6% reported Marquesan and 0.2% the related Mangareva language (same percentages for both at the 2007 census), 1.2% reported any of the Austral languages (down from 1.3% at the 2007 census), 1.0% reported Tuamotuan (down from 1.5% at

6552-569: Was brief as he fell out with Gaston Flosse and was toppled in November 2009, succeeded by Gaston Tong Sang. Tong Sang remained in power for a year and a half before being toppled in a vote of no confidence in April 2011, and succeeded by Temaru. Oscar Temaru's fifth stint as president of French Polynesia lasted two years, during which he campaigned for the re-inscription of French Polynesia on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories . Temaru lost

6636-502: Was changed in 1957 to Polynésie Française (French Polynesia). In 1962, France's early nuclear testing ground in Algeria was no longer usable when Algeria became independent and the Moruroa atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago was selected as the new testing site; tests were conducted underground after 1974. In 1977, French Polynesia was granted partial internal autonomy; in 1984, the autonomy

6720-621: Was created in 1774, and for a time some maps bore the name Isla de Amat after Viceroy Amat. Christian missions began with Spanish priests who stayed in Tahiti for a year. Protestants from the London Missionary Society settled permanently in Polynesia in 1797. King Pōmare II of Tahiti was forced to flee to Mo'orea in 1803 ; he and his subjects were converted to Protestantism in 1812. French Catholic missionaries arrived on Tahiti in 1834; their expulsion in 1836 caused France to send

6804-489: Was extended. French Polynesia became a full overseas collectivity of France in 2003. In September 1995, France stirred up widespread protests by resuming nuclear testing at Fangataufa atoll after a three-year moratorium. The last test was on 27 January 1996. On 29 January 1996, France announced that it would accede to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty , and no longer test nuclear weapons. French Polynesia

6888-498: Was relisted in the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories in 2013, making it eligible for a UN-backed independence referendum. The relisting was made after the indigenous opposition was voiced and supported by the Polynesian Leaders Group, Pacific Conference of Churches, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Non-Aligned Movement, World Council of Churches, and Melanesian Spearhead Group. Under

6972-496: Was the big winner of the 2013 election, succeeded Oscar Temaru as president of French Polynesia in May 2013, but he was removed from office in September 2014 due to a corruption conviction by France's highest court. Flosse was replaced as president of French Polynesia by his second-in-command in the anti-independence camp, Édouard Fritch , who was also Flosse's former son-in-law (divorced from Flosse's daughter). Fritch fell out with Flosse in 2015 as both leaders were vying for control of

7056-477: Was toppled in March 2005, succeeded by Temaru again who was toppled in December 2006, succeeded by Gaston Tong Sang , a close ally of Flosse. On 14 September 2007, the pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru was elected president of French Polynesia for the third time in three years (with 27 of 44 votes cast in the territorial assembly). He replaced former president Gaston Tong Sang , opposed to independence, who lost

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