A French Polynesian minister Luc Faatau has rejected accusations of having misspent public funds on campaigning for this month's election.
Yves Conroy Photo: RNZI / Walter Zweifel
This followed a formal complaint by a pensioner Yves Conroy against the president and four ministers, claiming they used taxpayers' money to travel to political meetings.
Mr Faatau told local television that the travelled to meet constituents as part of their work.
He also said that courts were too considerate with people who abused them, suggesting that Mr Conroy's claim was frivolous.
Mr Conroy said the five had no possible defence and would be found guilty in line with the precedent set against Nicolas Sarkozy.
Mr Conroy was the complainant about phantom jobs being created by Gaston Flosse in the 1990s which led to the his final conviction in 2014 and left him ineligible to hold public office until 2019.
