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French Polynesia French Polynesia

and Nicole Sanquer, to boycott the meeting. tegic alignment with the four members of the Quad (United
Independence leader Oscar Temaru, a long-time critic of States, Japan, Australia, India), to counter Chinese influence
French nuclear policy, told Islands Business the Paris roundta- in region. France’s Pacific dependencies are pillars in Macron’s
ble was not a meeting of equals: “Since 1977, we have had an “India-Australia-France” axis, announced in New Caledonia in
autonomy statute, but the real power lies in the hands of the May 2018.
French State. That’s why Paris is not the right place to talk Extending the FRANZ Treaty, alongside Australia’s Pacific Pa-
about the problems we are facing in our country. The round- trol Boat Program and new US pledges of coast guard cutters,
table in Paris is in the hands of the King of France. That’s why Macron announced that France will launch a South Pacific
I call this meeting in Paris a ‘vertical table’.” coast guard network to respond to IUU fishing and counter
Locals welcomed extra resources for the CIVEN commission, “predatory” (i.e. Chinese) behaviour in the region.
set up in 2010 to evaluate compensation claims from civilian During his visit to French Polynesia, Macron put the kibosh
and military personnel exposed to radiation. But the French on proposals for a long-delayed Chinese fish farming proj-
Polynesian government also wants Paris to reimburse 80 bil- ect on Hao atoll. The French Polynesian government had
lion CPF (about A$1 billion) already spent by the CPS Social long sought jobs and investment on Hao after the closure of
Security Fund since 1985 for the care of cancer patients in Ta- France’s nuclear-era military base on the island. President
hiti. In a report earlier this year, the French medical research Fritch welcomed investment plans from the Chinese company
agency INSERM called for a more comprehensive cancer regis- Tahiti Nui Océan Foods, even honouring CEO Wang Cheng with
ter in Tahiti, and better documentation of cardiovascular and the status of Commandeur dans l’ordre de Tahiti nui. However
congenital abnormalities amongst French Polynesians. the Chinese investment never came through and Macron said,
In Tahiti, the main independence party Tavini Huiraatira was “this project has no documented job creation, has question-
joined by church and community organisations to highlight able investors and has been the subject of a lot of reserva-
the issue. Coordinated by a collective of groups under the tions about the nature of its funding.”
banner “Maohi Lives Matter!”, there was an international Macron’s focus on Indo-Pacific strategy is also evident with
roundtable on 1 July and two public protests on 2 July and 17 increased support for member agencies of the Council of
July. Nuclear survivors called for improved compensation and Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP). Last January,
clean-up schemes and a formal apology for the health and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian signed a multi-
environmental impacts of radioactive fallout. year, multi-million euro partnership between France and the
During the French President’s visit, the warmth of the wel- Pacific Community (SPC). French funds will boost programs on
come from many people in Tahiti and Hiva Oa was enhanced public health, climate change, ocean resources, and sustain-
by a ban on anti-nuclear protests. The night before Macron’s able management of natural resources and food systems.
arrival, the French High Commissioner in Tahiti issued an offi- At the online France-Oceania summit on 19 July, Macron
cial decree forbidding a scheduled protest rally at the airport pledged new resources for the region: “We are going to
in Faa’a (the municipality where Oscar Temaru is Mayor). double the French contribution to the Pacific Fund, rising to
In response to the ban, Temaru and Père Auguste Uebe Carl- €3 million, which promotes the integration of French Pacific
son of Association 193 still led a small group of protestors at a authorities into their regional environment.” France will also
vigil on private property near the airport. “We are really in a increase funding through the Agence française de développe-
State that cannot be qualified as a democracy,” Carlson said. ment (AFD). He pledged up to €5 million for the IUCN/SPC
“No demonstrations are allowed during the President’s visit, Kiwa Initiative, which promotes nature-based solutions to
to give a good image. But we will adapt. One thing is certain, strengthen ecosystem resilience in the Pacific.
they will not be able to put a policeman, a gendarme behind As the only European Union (EU) member state with colo-
every demonstrator.” nies in the Pacific, France is also leveraging its relationship
In his final speech in Tahiti, President Macron pledged to with SPC through EU funding. On 1 August, the SPC welcomed
open up access to the archives on France’s nuclear testing the EU as the first Permanent Observer in the history of the
program. However the recent roundtable only agreed to set region’s key technical agency.
up a working group in Paris (with one Polynesian represen- Community groups are concerned that the privileged posi-
tative), to develop a process to review access to files kept tion of France and the European Union within some CROP
hidden under national security laws. Historians and medical agencies will affect policy development on contested environ-
researchers are concerned they’ll wait a long time for full mental issues such as deep sea mining, fisheries and nuclear
access. contaminants. As one example, the CROP agencies have
The final disappointment for many nuclear survivors was established a Nuclear Legacy Task Force, but only Marshall
the absence of one word in Macron’s final speech: “sorry.” Islands and Kiribati are on its agenda, not French Polynesia.
France’s refusal to fully apologise for the legacies of the This ignores the radioactive pollution at France’s nuclear test
nuclear tests still rankles with many Maohi and undercuts the sites and 2,850 tonnes of contaminated debris dumped into
success of the visit. the Pacific off Moruroa atoll. As the saying goes, “If it’s safe,
test it in Paris….”
Indo-Pacific strategy
The French government is currently seeking greater stra- nicmac3056@gmail.com

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