6 Nov 2004

Rival Tahiti delegations each claim Paris has their support

8:36 am on 6 November 2004

Two rival delegations from French Polynesia say they're satisfied after a round of talks with authorities in Paris on the territory's political crisis.

Supporters of Oscar Temaru and Gaston Flosse each claim the presidency.

France's highest administrative court is to sit next week to ascertain whether territorial elections in May were lawful.

It has two weeks to decide on a series of appeals in connection with the recent political crisis in French Polynesia.

A spokeswoman for Oscar Temaru, Nicole Bouteau, has described the talks as constructive and fruitful.

Mrs Bouteau says French officials recognise the state of crisis in French Polynesia and she says officials in Paris now see a new general election in the territory as inevitable.

On the other side, Edouard Fritsch, who has led the delegation on behalf of Gaston Flosse, claims he's succeeded in convincing French officials that a dissolution of the territorial assembly is not the solution.

Mr Fritsch says everybody agrees that public order needs to be re-established urgently in French Polynesia.