Regions and territories: French Polynesia

Overview

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There are five island groups - the Society islands, the Tuamotu archipelago, the Gambier islands, the Marquesas islands and the Tubuai islands. Tahiti is the most densely-populated island.

European contact was gradual; the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and British were credited with the discovery of one or more of the islands. In the 18th century European traders and missionaries came, bringing diseases which wiped out much of the indigenous population.

The missionaries tried to put a stop to local religious practices, nudity and other aspects of indigenous life. Some forms of Polynesian culture were lost for many years.

Tahiti, in the Society islands, became a French colony in 1880. France later annexed other islands to form the French Colony of Oceania. In 1946 the islands became an overseas territory and in 2004 gained "overseas country" status.

Pro-independence movements flourished in the 1970s and over time the islands took more control of internal affairs, culminating in a statute granting increased autonomy in 1996.

There has been friction with Paris over nuclear testing. France conducted 41 atmospheric tests on the Mururoa atoll and neighbouring Fangataufa from 1966. In 1975, under international pressure, it switched to underground tests.

Ending a three year moratorium, French President Jacques Chirac said testing would resume in 1995. The move provoked international anger and protests in Papeete turned violent.

Nuclear tests took place on Mururoa and Fangataufa

• Tests were carried out between 1966-1996
• UN study said radioactivity levels were negligible
• Test site dismantled in 1998

Six of the eight planned tests were carried out, the last one in January 1996. At the end of the programme Paris agreed to a 10-year compensation package.

In 1995 the UN's nuclear watchdog concluded that radiation levels around the atolls posed no threat. In 1999 Paris admitted that fractures had been discovered in the coral cone at the sites. The atolls continue to be monitored.

French Polynesia enjoys a high standard of living, but wealth is unevenly distributed and unemployment is high.

Tourism is an important money-earner; travellers favour Tahiti and Bora Bora. Boasting a year-round warm climate, volcanic peaks and tranquil lagoons, it is easy to see why the islands are popular. French Polynesia is, though, prone to typhoons.

Facts

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Leaders

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Head of state: (French) President Nicolas Sarkozy, represented by High Commissioner Anne Bouquet

President: Gaston Flosse

Veteran politician Gaston Flosse became president in February 2008 for the fourth time in 25 years. Despite losing parliamentary elections, Mr Flosse - who supports continued ties with France - struck a deal with pro-independence politicians who wanted to deny the presidency to Gaston Tong Sang.

The agreement to keep out Mr Sang - who has made a number of enemies - was remarkable even by the unpredictable standards of French Polynesia.

The move shocked mainland France, where the government was hoping for an end to years of political manoeuvring and instability in the Pacific territory.

Many were dismayed by the comeback of Gaston Flosse, who ran French Polynesia for the best part of two decades before being ousted in 2004.

Facing various corruption charges over the years, he's always seen those dropped or been amnestied. Critics accuse him of intimidating prosecutors. The most serious allegations against him concern the disappearance of a journalist a decade ago, at the hands - it's been argued - of his private militia.