French Polynesia (French: Polynésie française, Tahitian: Porinetia Farani) is a French "overseas collectivity" (French: collectivité d'outre-mer, or COM) with the particular designation of "overseas country" (French: pays d'outre-mer, or POM) in the southern Pacific Ocean.
French Polynesia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic French overseas collectivity, whereby the President of French Polynesia is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system.
The President of the French Republic is represented by the High Commissioner of the Republic in French Polynesia (Le Haut-Commissaire de la République en Polynésie française).
French Polynesia elects the Assembly of French Polynesia (Assemblée de la Polynésie française), the unicameral legislature on the territorial level.
The members of the Assembly of French Polynesia are elected in 6 different electoral districts or electoral circumscriptions (French: circonscriptions électorales) which slightly differ from the administrative subdivisions (subdivisions administratives) on the Tuamotus and the Gambier Islands.
French Polynesia (Polynesie Francaise, ) is an archipelago of islands that is an overseas dependent territory of France in the South Pacific Ocean about one-half of the way from South America to Australia.
The flagcarrier of French Polynesia is Air Tahiti Nui and the main airport and regional hub is Papeete.
France began testing nuclear weapons in some parts of French Polynesia in the 1960s, meeting with widespread local opposition; a series of six tests in 199596 was declared by France to be the last.
French Polynesia, an external territory of France, was used for thirty years between 1966 and 1996 as the testing ground for the French nuclear arsenal.
French Polynesia is an autonomous territory of France.
The French Parliament is expected to approve a broadening of the statute which will transform French Polynesia into an 'overseas country' within the French Republic.
French Polynesia is adjusting to the reduced inflow of French funds.
French Polynesia is an associate member of ESCAP and is eligible for benefits under the EU/ACP successor agreement to Lome IV Convention signed in Cotonou, Benin in June 2000.
French Polynesia participates in the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and is a member of the Pacific Islands Development Programme as well as being as associate member of the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC).
French Polynesia was also enabled to negotiate and sign in its own right administrative arrangements and regional cooperation agreements with countries in the Pacific region.
The French Government is represented in French Polynesia by a High Commissioner, currently responsible for police and justice, monetary policy, tertiary education, immigration, and defence and foreign affairs.
French Polynesia is a parliamentary democracy, with a 57-member Assembly and an executive headed by a president elected by a simple majority vote within the assembly.
When you are in French Polynesia, be aware that local laws and penalties, including ones that appear harsh by Australian standards, do apply to you.
French Polynesia is an Overseas Country within the French Republic and French law applies, including the principle of 'Garde à Vue' according to which an arrested person may not have immediate access to a lawyer or their consular representative.
If you are travelling to French Polynesia, whatever the reason and however long you'll be there, we encourage you to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
French Polynesia : many tropical tourist destinations like to call themselves Paradise on Earth, but in French Polynesia, these words are probably more deserved than anywhere else in the world.
At the bottom of the page you can also find a world map showing where French Polynesia is. Finally at the top of the page you can find a link to search for other guides in photos and pictures on benoa.net and a link to my photo blog.
Flora : French Polynesia is considered as a floral paradise for the number of species is huge.
Americans living or traveling to French Polynesia are encouraged to register with the local U.S. Consular Agent or the U.S. Embassy in Suva, Fiji or through the State Department’s travel registration website, and to obtain up-to-date information on travel and security within French Polynesia.
French Polynesia a collection of 118 islands covers a vast area of the southeastern Pacific Ocean, just about the size of Europe.
In general, the French government was able to rely on the firm backing of most of French public opinion and an often ambivalent attitude on the part of the inhabitants of French Polynesia, who were well aware of the considerable benefits of the test program to the otherwise threadbare local economy.
Although the protesters failed to stop the tests, their campaign had an important political effect by linking the anti-nuclear movement and the burgeoning pro-Independence movement which had so far been largely unrepresented in any political forum, despite the support of a large proportion (possibly the majority) of the population.
French Polynesia comprises 120 islands divided into five archipelagos: the Society Archipelago, Tuamotu Archipelago, Marquesas Islands, Austral Islands and Mangreva Islands.
is applied to the scattered French possessions in the South Pacific—Mangareva (Gambier), Makatea, the Marquesas Islands, Rapa, Rurutu, Rimatara, the Society Islands, the Tuamotu Archipelago, Tubuai, Raivavae, and the island of Clipperton—which were organized into a single colony in 1903.
It's French Polynesia's biggest, most famous and historically interesting island, but the glossy pictures that you see in travel agents' windows are quite likely to be some other French Polynesian island.
In 1975 worldwide opposition forced the French to move the testing underground on Fangataufa.
In 2004, France changed its status from a French Overseas Territory to an Overseas Country, which gave French Polynesia more autonomy over local affairs.
French Polynesia covers an area of the South Pacific Ocean about the size of Europe.
Entirely off the usual cruising routes are French Polynesia's other two groups, the Austral and Gambier islands.
November to April is warm and rainy, while May to October is cooler and drier, when the islands are under the influence of the SE trade winds.
LOCATION AND GEOGRAPHY: French Polynesia consists of five scattered archipelagos in the South Pacific Ocean.
CLIMATE: French Polynesia has a tropical climate which is hot and humid from November to April but cooler and drier for the remainder of the year.
Almost 19% of the population are mixed, of which Polynesian-Europeans account for 16.8%, Polynesian-Chinese for 1.3% and European-Chinese for.5% while Europeans, mostly French, account for 10% and Chinese account for 4% of the population.