21 Jun 2006

No private meeting for French Polynesia's Temaru with French president

3:48 pm on 21 June 2006

Reports from Paris say President Jacques Chirac will only meet the French Polynesian president, Oscar Temaru, during a planned encounter in Paris with other leaders from the French Pacific.

Mr Temaru's communications director says the meeting the day after tomorrow will involve New Caledonia's president, Marie-Noelle Themereau, and a member of the French parliament from Wallis and Futuna, Victor Brial.

The report says Mr Temaru is disappointed that he has been denied a one-on-one meeting with Mr Chirac.

The two have never met before because of protocol issues during earlier bids to schedule a meeting.

Mr Chirac regularly receives the leader of French Polynesia's opposition, Gaston Flosse, who used to a minister when Mr Chirac was the prime minister.