14 Oct 2009

French Polynesian veterans expect Senate to support Morin Bill

8:15 pm on 14 October 2009

The head of the French Polynesian Nuclear test veterans group Moruroa e Tatou says he expects that the French Senate will approve of a bill which considers giving assistance for those affected by the weapons tests.

Veterans representatives like Roland Oldham are in Paris to lobby lawmakers to improve the proposed compensation proposed in the Loi Morin which he describes as only a piecemeal response to the needs of veterans.

The bill has been passed by the French Assembly and is to be debated in the Senate in the next few hours.

Mr Oldham says although he expects the majority of the Senate to support the bill, the veterans will keep fighting for a better package.

"I'm sure it's going to go through for today but for us it's (important) to be here, to say this thing is not over. Even if this law is going to be voted, it's not over and we have to think about other ways, other means of doing things to find a solution to this problem."