French Polynesia

In the often-turbulent recent political history of French Polynesia, the year under review was a relatively calm one. Against all odds, Edouard Fritch consolidated his power as the country’s president, transforming his tenuous tenure in office into one based on a comparatively solid majority, and uniting under his leadership all political forces that oppose both independence and Fritch’s predecessor Gaston Flosse. Meanwhile, for the first time in over a decade, the country hosted a French presidential visit, which made some hopeful impressions, but at the same time the French government continues to stubbornly refuse to engage with United Nations institutions to work with them toward the country’s decolonization.