French Polynesia's president, Oscar Temaru, has told a public service conference that pays may have to be cut.
Mr Temaru says more has to be achieved with fewer means as the territory is grappling with economic difficulties.
According to Tahitipresse, he has told the gathering that at the heart of French Polynesia's problems is the inequality of a society developping at two speeds.
The French high commissioner, Richard Didier, says the subject is not only a Polynesian one, but also one affecting France where reforms call for pays to be frozen and retiring staff to no longer be replaced.
The head of the employers' organisation has labelled the public service as ineffective and costly.
