French Polynesia's former president, Gaston Flosse, has hit out at the judicial system, questioning the integrity of those in charge of the prosecution in the territory.
Flosse, who lost office because of a corruption conviction two years ago, told the territory's daily newspapers that the key people should be removed, adding that French Polynesia was after all not Africa.
He told the La Depeche that the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy had sent the prosecutor, Jose Thorel, to Tahiti with the express task to get and keep him out of politics.
Flosse said having himself been a minister in France, he knew how things work, hinting that a judge within the administration could be asked to expedite things.
He said he had been told not to say too much or risked being returned to prison.
Gaston Flosse Photo: AFP