French Polynesia's president, Oscar Temaru, has called for better ties with Australia, suggesting that a French Polynesian embassy should be opened.
Mr Temaru made the remark after returning from the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Cairns.
He says although France is 20,000 kilometres away, it has an embassy in Canberra while the Tahitians, as neighbours, have nothing.
France runs foreign affairs for its overseas possessions, including French Polynesia which in 2004 became a so-called overseas country within the French republic.
The idea of setting up diplomatic missions was entertained by the then government in Papeete but quickly quashed by Paris.
