French Polynesia's politics is contaminated by its nuclear legacy, with the president Edouard Fritch now admitting that he lied about the French weapons tests.
Trying to turn the page on the 30-year period of nuclear testing, a memorial is to be built in Papeete and the autonomy statute revised to recognise the territory's role in helping France develop its nuclear deterrent.
The debate about amending the statute stunned the assembly.
Walter Zweifel listened in.
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French Polynesia's president Edouard Fritch Photo: AFP