Tahiti rally demands Flosse resign

A rally of several thousand people in Tahiti has demanded the resignation of the president of French Polynesia, Gaston Flosse, who has been convicted of corruption by a French court.

Mr Flosse, a member of the French Senate, was convicted last week of taking bribes from the operator of an illegal casino.

He was fined and sentenced to a two-year suspended jail sentence, as well as being banned from political office for one year.

But Mr Flosse has refused to resign, saying he plans to appeal against the conviction.

The rally was held outside the annual meeting of the 28 members of the Pacific Community formerly the South Pacific Commission which Mr Flosse was due to chair.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service