Editing French Polynesia (section)

== Governance ==
{{main|Politics of French Polynesia}}
Under the terms of Article 74 of the [[Constitution of France|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 system|parliamentary]] [[representative democracy|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 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 [[List of nuclear weapons tests of France|French nuclear weapons tests]] in 1995, and had obtained from his longtime friend and political ally [[Jacques Chirac]], then president of France, 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 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 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).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6994513.stm |title=BBC NEWS, French Polynesia gets new leader |work=BBC News |date=14 September 2007 |access-date=31 May 2011 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730062740/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6994513.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> He replaced former president [[Gaston Tong Sang]], opposed to independence, who lost 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 the political crisis.

[[File:Assemblée de Polynésie.JPG|left|thumb|The [[Assembly of French Polynesia]]]]
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 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rfo.fr/article1437.html |title=Polynésie : Gaston Flosse présente un gouvernement d'union |trans-title=Polynesia: Gaston Flosse announces a unity government |access-date=2008-03-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304152635/http://www.rfo.fr/article1437.html |archive-date=4 March 2008 |df=dmy-all |date=29 February 2008 |language=fr |work=RFO }}</ref>

At the [[2008 French municipal elections|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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

=== Administration ===
[[File:Bora Bora, French Polynesia.jpg|thumb|[[Bora Bora]]]]
Between 1946 and 2003, French Polynesia had the status of an overseas territory (''{{lang|fr|[[territoire d'outre-mer]]}}'', or ''TOM''). In 2003, it became an overseas collectivity (''{{lang|fr|[[collectivité d'outre-mer]]}}'', or COM). Its statutory law of 27 February 2004 gives it the particular designation of ''[[overseas country of France|overseas country inside the Republic]]'' (''{{lang|fr|pays d'outre-mer au sein de la République}}'', or POM), but without legal modification of its status.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/law/research/publications/about-nzacl/publications/special-issues/hors-serie-volume-x,-2010/Moyrand-And-Angelo.pdf |chapter=Administrative Regimes of French Overseas Territories: New Caledonia and French Polynesia |last1=Angelo |first1=Tony |last2=Moyrand |first2=A |title=Governance and Selfreliance in Pacific Island Societies: Comparative Studies (Gouvernance et autonomie dans les sociétés du Pacifique Sud: Etudes comparés) |editor-last1=Angelo |editor-first1=Tony |editor-last2=Sage |editor-first2=Yves-Louis |publisher=Revue Juridique Polynesienne |year=2010 |page=202 |access-date=24 January 2021 |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124050107/https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/law/research/publications/about-nzacl/publications/special-issues/hors-serie-volume-x,-2010/Moyrand-And-Angelo.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Relations with mainland France ===
[[File:Haut Commissariat à Papeete.JPG|thumb|High Commission of the [[French Fifth Republic]]]]
Despite a local assembly and government, French Polynesia is not in a [[Associated state|free association]] with France, like the [[Cook Islands]] with [[New Zealand]]. As a French overseas collectivity, the local government has no direct authority over justice, university education, or 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 Armed Forces|French military forces]]. The collectivity government retains control over primary and secondary education, health, town planning, and the environment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2012/10/french-polynesia-last-vestiges-of-frances-empire/|title=French Polynesia Battles for Independence|author1=Rachel Reeves|author2=Luke Hunt|author3=The Diplomat|work=The Diplomat|access-date=17 December 2015|archive-date=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101005402/http://thediplomat.com/2012/10/french-polynesia-last-vestiges-of-frances-empire/|url-status=live}}</ref> The highest representative of the State in the territory is the [[High Commissioner of the Republic in French Polynesia]] ({{langx|fr|Haut commissaire de la République en Polynésie française}}).

French Polynesia also sends three [[Member of Parliament (France)|deputies]] to the [[National Assembly of France|French National Assembly]] in three constituencies, [[French Polynesia's 1st constituency|the 1st]] representing Papeete and its north-eastern suburbs, plus the [[Communes of France|commune]] (municipality) of [[Moorea-Maiao|Mo'orea-Mai'ao]], the [[Îles Tuamotu-Gambier|Tuāmotu-Gambier]] administrative division, and the Marquesas Islands administrative division, [[French Polynesia's 2nd constituency|the 2nd]] representing much of Tahiti outside Papeete and the Austral Islands administrative subdivision, and [[French Polynesia's 3rd constituency|the 3rd]] representing the [[Leeward Islands (Society Islands)|Leeward Islands]] [[Administrative divisions of French Polynesia|administrative subdivision]] and the south-western suburbs of Papeete. French Polynesia also sends two senators to the [[Senate of France|French Senate]].

=== Defence ===
The defence of 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)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/actualites/fapf-bilan-mission-pacific-aito-du-patrouilleur-arago|title=FAPF – Bilan de la mission PACIFIC AITO du patrouilleur Arago|website=Ministère des Armées|date=28 February 2023|access-date=28 February 2023|archive-date=28 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228180729/https://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/actualites/fapf-bilan-mission-pacific-aito-du-patrouilleur-arago|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="fpolynesia">{{cite web |url=https://www.defense.gouv.fr/operations/monde/asie-pacifique/forces-armees-polynesie-francaise |title=Forces armées de Polynésie française |trans-title=Armed Forces of French Polynesia |publisher=Ministère des Armées |language=fr |access-date=8 December 2022 |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114111103/https://www.defense.gouv.fr/operations/monde/asie-pacifique/forces-armees-polynesie-francaise |url-status=live }}</ref> – along with modest air transport and surveillance assets.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.usni.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/French-deployments.jpg |access-date=28 November 2021 |title=French Military Presence in the Indo-Pacific |website=United States Naval Institute News |archive-date=24 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724031507/https://news.usni.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/French-deployments.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> The latter include three [[Dassault Falcon 20|Falcon 200 Gardian maritime surveillance aircraft]] from [[French Naval Aviation]], which are to be replaced by the more modern [[Dassault Falcon 2000|Falcon 2000 Albatros]] starting in around 2025/26.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/defense/les-avions-de-surveillance-maritime-gardian-prolonges-a-tahiti-et-noumea |title=Les avions de surveillance maritime Gardian prolongés à Tahiti et Nouméa |last=Groizeleau |first=Vincent |website=Mer et Marine |language=fr |date=13 December 2024 |access-date=13 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/26468-french-navy-to-receive-new-eyes-in-the-sky-from-dassault |title=French Navy to receive new eyes in the sky from Dassault|work=AeroTime|date=19 November 2020|access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=13 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113213457/https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/26468-french-navy-to-receive-new-eyes-in-the-sky-from-dassault |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/defense/un-nouvel-helicoptere-pour-la-fregate-de-surveillance-prairial-en-polynesie |title=Un nouvel hélicoptère pour la frégate de surveillance Prairial en Polynésie |work=Mer et Marine |language=fr |trans-title=A new helicopter for the surveillance frigate Prairial in Polynesia |last=Groizeleau |first=Vincent |date=17 October 2022 |access-date=8 December 2022 |archive-date=18 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018083522/https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/defense/un-nouvel-helicoptere-pour-la-fregate-de-surveillance-prairial-en-polynesie |url-status=live }}</ref> The former is composed of two [[CASA/IPTN CN-235|CN-235]] tactical transport aircraft drawn from the Air Force's ET 82 "Maine" transport squadron.<ref name="fpolynesia"/>

As of mid-2024, three principal [[French Navy]] vessels are based in the territory, including the surveillance frigate {{ship|French frigate|Prairial||2}}, the patrol and support ship [[D'Entrecasteaux-class patrol ship|''Bougainville'']], and ''Teriieroo to Teriierooiterai'', a vessel of the new [[Patrouilleur Outre-mer|''Félix Éboué'' class]] of patrol vessels.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/defense/la-marine-nationale-met-en-service-son-deuxieme-patrouilleur-d-outre-mer |title=La Marine nationale met en service son deuxième patrouilleur d'outre-mer |last=Groizeleau |first=Vincent |website=Mer et Marine |language=fr |date=19 July 2024 |access-date=19 July 2024}}</ref> In 2026 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.opex360.com/2024/07/18/le-patrouilleur-outre-mer-teriieroo-a-teriierooiterai-a-ete-admis-au-service-actif/ |title=Le patrouilleur outre-mer " Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai " a été admis au service actif |work=zone militaire |last=Lagneau |first=Laurent |language=fr |date=18 July 2024 |access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref>  As of 2021, two smaller port and coastal tugs (RPCs), ''Maroa'' and ''Manini'', were also operational in the territory.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/defense/la-marine-nationale-n-a-plus-aucun-batiment-disponible-en-nouvelle-caledonie |title=La Marine nationale n'a plus aucun bâtiment disponible en Nouvelle-Calédonie |work=Mer et Marine |language=fr |last=Groizeleau |first=Vincent |date=16 July 2021 |access-date=5 March 2023 |archive-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305120331/https://www.meretmarine.com/fr/defense/la-marine-nationale-n-a-plus-aucun-batiment-disponible-en-nouvelle-caledonie |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Marine Nationale Dossier d'Information, pp. 19 and 23 |url=https://www.colsbleus.fr/sites/default/files/2023-02/DIM%202023_PLANCHE_0.pdf |date=January 2023 |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Cols Bleus |language=fr |archive-date=4 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304112422/https://www.colsbleus.fr/sites/default/files/2023-02/DIM%202023_PLANCHE_0.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Flottilla 35F of [[French Naval Aviation]] deploys a detachment of three [[Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin|AS 365N Dauphin]] helicopters in Tahiti.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marine Nationale Dossier d'Information, p. 23 |url=https://www.colsbleus.fr/sites/default/files/2023-02/DIM%202023_PLANCHE_0.pdf |date=January 2023 |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Cols Bleus |language=fr |archive-date=4 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304112422/https://www.colsbleus.fr/sites/default/files/2023-02/DIM%202023_PLANCHE_0.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The helicopters carry out a variety of roles in the territory, and may be carried on the frigate ''Prairial'' as needed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2020-05-07/french-navy-revamps-its-helicopter-fleet |title=French Navy Revamps Its Helicopter Fleet |work=AIN Online |last=Donald |first=David |date=7 May 2020 |access-date=8 December 2022 |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114111121/https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2020-05-07/french-navy-revamps-its-helicopter-fleet |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[National Gendarmerie]] deploys some 500 active personnel and civilians, plus around 150 reservists, in French Polynesia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.polynesie-francaise.pref.gouv.fr/Services-de-l-Etat/Securite/Gendarmerie-Nationale#:~:text=La%20gendarmerie%20exerce%20sa%20responsabilit%C3%A9,li%C3%A9s%20par%20contrat%20(ESR) |title=Le Commandement de la Gendarmerie pour la Polynésie Française |trans-title=The Gendarmerie Command for French Polynesia |language=fr |publisher=Haut-Commissariat de la République en Polynésie Française |date=9 October 2022 |access-date=8 December 2022 |archive-date=7 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107141134/http://www.polynesie-francaise.pref.gouv.fr/Services-de-l-Etat/Securite/Gendarmerie-Nationale#:~:text=La%20gendarmerie%20exerce%20sa%20responsabilit%C3%A9,li%C3%A9s%20par%20contrat%20(ESR) |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 around 2025–2026.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Le Jasmin sera remplacé en 2024 |url=https://www.service-public.pf/dpam/2019/06/12/le-jasmin-sera-remplace-en-2024/ |date=12 June 2019 |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Direction Polynésienne des Affaires Maritimes |language=fr |archive-date=4 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304184337/https://www.service-public.pf/dpam/2019/06/12/le-jasmin-sera-remplace-en-2024/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://lessor.org/operationnel/le-premier-des-six-nouveaux-patrouilleurs-cotiers-de-la-gendarmerie-maritime-officiellement-commande | title=Le premier des six nouveaux patrouilleurs côtiers de la Gendarmerie maritime officiellement commandé | date=2 September 2022 | access-date=5 March 2023 | archive-date=5 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305121333/https://lessor.org/operationnel/le-premier-des-six-nouveaux-patrouilleurs-cotiers-de-la-gendarmerie-maritime-officiellement-commande | url-status=live }}</ref>