The leader of France's National Front has endorsed the idea of enlarging French Polynesia's autonomy.
Marine Le Pen Photo: AFP
Marine Le Pen made the commitment in a letter to Gaston Flosse, the leader of the Tahoeraa Huiraatira Party which won an overwhelming majority in the last election but has since split and joined the opposition ranks.
The letter, published by the Tahiti Today blog, acknowledged the Tahoeraa's support for her bid to become the next French president and outlines her response to Flosse's desire to make French Polynesia an associate state of France.
At Flosse's behest the territory was made a so-called overseas country within the republic in 2004 but under the latest proposal it would obtain more powers, in particular to settle land issues and to run education.
Ms Le Pen suggested that she would push for a constitutional amendment to that end and submit it to a referendum in French Polynesia.
Without giving figures, she undertakes to release the funds needed to compensate French Polynesia for the effects of the nuclear weapons tests on the people, the environment and the economy.