Pacific

More talks on lifting French Polynesia blockades

14:34 pm on 6 December 2004

A member of French Polynesia's ousted coalition, Tea Hirshon, says she is confident that the blockades of public buildings will be lifted.

Those defying the political leaders are meeting today to discuss whether to end the occupations which followed the controversial election in October of Gaston Flosse as new president.

They want a territory-wide election but the French supreme court has only cleared the way for by-elections in the electorate where Mr Flosse's failed to come first.

Ms Hirshon says the recent talks in Paris, which were abandoned by Mr Flosse because of the occupations, could be revived.

She says Oscar Temaru has been in touch with the French overseas territories minister, Brigitte Girardin, on possible general elections.

"If the barricades are totally lifted, Mrs Girardin has said that negotiations could start right away. They actually have in their bag a plan that could very quickly change the electoral rules so that we have general elections by the end of March or April. There fore it would cancel those elections on the 13th of February."

Tea Hirshon