Emmanuel Macron expected for his first trip to French Polynesia
French President Emmanuel Macron Daniel Cole POOL / AFP / File
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4 min
Emmanuel Macron is going to Papeete this Sunday for a four-day trip to Polynesia.
During this visit, the French president is expected on many issues, such as nuclear or Covid-19.
Publicity
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With our special correspondent in Papeete
,
Julien Chavanne
The Élysée presents it as a new stage of the Tour de France started by
Emmanuel Macron
.
Eight months before the presidential election, the Head of State comes to take the pulse of the country 16,000 kilometers from Paris.
But behind the images of postcards, Emmanuel Macron will find the ball of the
Covid-19
.
Polynesians hesitate in the face of the vaccine more than elsewhere.
Only a third of the population has received a first dose, almost half as much as in metropolitan France.
As soon as he gets off the plane, the Head of State will also visit the Covid unit of the Polynesian hospital center with a message: "
Get vaccinated!"
"
Emmanuel Macron will however have the opportunity to escape the health crisis by going to the Marquesas Islands - the first time that a French president will set foot there.
The burning dossier of nuclear tests
But it is on the subject of nuclear power that the President is eagerly awaited by the Polynesians.
On this sensitive issue of the
consequences of nuclear tests
from 1966 to 1996 (193 nuclear bombs exploded in the region), Emmanuel Macron should make announcements on the opening of the archives and on compensation for victims.
But no excuses as claimed by part of the population.
On the spot, the population is divided between indifference, anger and waiting in the painful file of nuclear tests. "
Why did he wait so long?" He is almost at the end of his inauguration. It is now that he realizes that Polynesia is there
!
», Indignant Mariné, seller of shell bracelets at the covered market in Papeete. She hopes that Emmanuel Macron will open without trembling the dark page of nuclear tests: “
Will France recognize its involvement? I say involve, because it is still a weapon of war.
"
Perahri also expects a strong gesture, without much hope.
For years, he worked as a stevedore in an area exposed to toxic fallout: "
I would have liked him to apologize to us, but I don't think he's going to do it
."
"
A communication operation
"
Upstairs in the market, in her jewelry store, Maria is rather worried about her sales figures.
The pandemic and the fall in tourism have emptied his shop: “
Before the Covid, I had about 50 customers.
And now I actually have five clients.
Sometimes I don't have any clients at all during the week
”.
The deputy for Tahiti's third constituency, Moetai Brotherson, has no illusions.
For him, there is not much to expect from the presidential trip.
I think it's a communication operation that is launched as part of the presidential election
Moetai Brotherson, Member of Parliament for Tahiti
Aurélien Devernoix
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French politics
French Polynesia
France
Emmanuel Macron