The three newly elected French Polynesian members of the French National Assembly have decided the join the centrist Union of Democrats and Independents, snubbing for the first time the UMP.
They will be joined by the French Assembly's New Caledonian members who also stay clear of the UMP and the Socialists.
Walter Zweifel reports.
"Edouard Fritch, Jonas Tahuaitu and Jean-Paul Tuaiva of the Tahoeraa Huiraatira were elected in a run-off vote against three candidates of the pro-independence Union For Democracy. The UMP had given its support to the three before last weekend's run-off after its preferred candidate, Gaston Tong Sang of the To Tatou Aia Party, was eliminated from the electoral race. The previous French Polynesian members had been with the UMP, but the only one seeking re-election, Bruno Sandras, urged his supporters to vote for the pro-independence camp after his first round election defeat. The latest UMP approach to the Tahoeraa comes four years after it severed all ties with it because it had formed a government with the pro-independence Union For Democracy."
