France has again spoken out against French Polynesia's bid to be reinscribed on the UN decolonisation list.
The overseas territories minister issued a new statement in response to intensified lobbying by Tahiti politicians ahead of the Forum in Auckland.
Walter Zweifel reports.
"For a second time in two weeks, Marie-Luce Penchard has highlighted that French Polynesia is now the French republic's most autonomous territory. She also points out that France transfers two billion US dollars a year to Tahiti and denounces presenting such a privilege as a colonial relationship. Her statement follows a call by the French Polynesian government to end 170 years of colonisation and last month's assembly vote on a resolution to be taken to the Forum in Auckland and the UN in New York. To counter Tahiti's lobbying, the French foreign minister, Alain Juppe, will join the Forum leaders in Auckland."
