French Pacific News In Brief

Monday, 20 January 2025, 9:04 pm
Article: RNZ

Patrick Decloitre, Correspondent French Pacific Desk

Valls expected in Tahiti by May 2025

France's newly-appointed minister for overseas Manuel Valls is expected to travel to French Polynesia before the end of May 2025.

This was announced by French Polynesia's President Moetai Brotherson, who met the French minister in Paris last Friday.

France's current financial assistance (around €1.7 billion Euros per year), including in the key health and education sectors, was discussed.

This will also be high on the agenda for future talks in Paris, notably with President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday 21 January, and French Prime Minister François Bayrou and economy minister Eric Lombard on Wednesday 22 January.

Another topic discussed was the preparation and related funds for Tahiti to host the 2027 Pacific Games.

French Polynesia - drugs

A tribunal in Papeete last week found three people guilty of methamphetamine crystal trafficking and sentenced them to jail.

This comes after some 1.1 kilograms of the substance was seized by French customs in 2023 at Tahiti's international airport of Faa'a.

The drugs were concealed in the double bottom of a passenger's suitcase arriving from Los Angeles.

The main accused, a 46-year-old man, said in court that he started the trafficking as a money-making business after serving a previous five-year sentence, where he received advice from other inmates.

Record tourism arrivals in French Polynesia

Tourism statistics in French Polynesia have recorded 241,570 arrivals for 2024, latest official figures show.

This is 1.2 percent more than the 2023 figures, according to ISPF (French Polynesia's Statistics Institute).

The figures come despite a reported slight decrease in arrivals from French Polynesia's main source market, the United States.

The second main source market is Europe, especially mainland France.

On the specific cruise liner arrivals, the number of recorded visitors reached 43,815 in 2023 and is expected to have increased in 2024.

This year 92 cruise liners are scheduled to visit.

New Caledonia's 1,600-strong diaspora voted in Vanuatu election

New Caledonia's significant diaspora voted in Vanuatu's snap poll to renew the 52-seat parliament, which was dissolved by President Nikenike Vurobaravu on 18 November.

The only polling station, set up in the capital Nouméa near the Vanuatu Consulate General, counted as part as the Vanuatu capital Port Vila's constituency.

It was open to voters last Thursday 16 January from 7:30am to 8pm.

For New Caledonia, the estimated number of ni-Vanuatu registered voters is about 1,600.

Bus shuttles were also organised for ni-Vanuatu voters residing in the Greater Nouméa area (Mont-Dore, Dumbéa and Païta).

Pacific documentary festival FIFO unveils programme

The 2025 Pacific documentary festival (FIFO) will this year begin on 31 January, until and run until 9 February.

The FIFO organising committee, during a press conference on Friday 17 January, said this year's competition will showcase a wide range of films and documentaries from the Pacific region.

Selection committee member Teva Pambrun said the 22nd FIFO competition includes French Polynesia, New Caledonia, but also "Vanuatu, Fiji, Aotearoa-New Zealand, Australia, and Rapa Nui.

"This year, we were lucky enough to have everyone submitting a documentary."

The FIFO also includes meetings, workshops and master classes bringing together Pacific media and TV professionals and producers.

First French international school in Auckland

A French international school is set to open this February in Auckland.

The new international establishment was granted Charter School status early December 2024.

The École française internationale Auckland, like similar establishments worldwide, will offer a bilingual curriculum (primary and secondary) endorsed by the French Ministry of Education and leading to the International Baccalaureate, under the AEFE (Agency for French Education Abroad) network.

It is located in Remuera.

New Zealand's Consul-General for Pacific takes office in Nouméa

New Zealand's new Consul General for Pacific, Mary Thurston, held her first meeting with New Caledonia French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc on Friday 17 January.

Le Franc said the meeting allowed them "to recall the close ties that unite France and New Zealand, as well as exchanging on regional issues".

Thurston was appointed on 22 November 2024.

She is based in Nouméa with a jurisdiction for the whole French Pacific - New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis-and-Futuna.

Thurston's previous postings include Deputy High Commissioner at the New Zealand High Commission in Singapore, ambassador of New Zealand to Poland with accreditations for Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine (2016-2021) and, in the Pacific region, deputy special coordinator of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).

Apart from English, the career diplomat speaks French, Spanish and Solomon Islands pidgin.

She replaces Felicity Roxburgh, who had held the Nouméa-based position since May 2021.

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