A GROUP of 14 young members of French Polynesia’s Territorial Assembly has resigned from the ruling Tavini Huiraatira party, stripping the party of its absolute majority in the chamber.
The mass resignation, tendered over the Easter weekend, reduces Tavini’s seats to 22 out of 57 in the Territorial Assembly. The party no longer controls an absolute majority. A motion of defiance would require the approval of at least 35 MPs.
In their resignation letter addressed to party founder and veteran independence leader Oscar Temaru, 81, the lawmakers said their decision was “carefully considered” but did not “question the respect we have” for him.
The resigning MPs belong to a moderate faction of Tavini, mostly elected during the last territorial elections in May 2023. Tensions have since grown between these “new generation” members and the party’s founding figures, including Temaru and party deputy Antony Géros, who also serves as Speaker of the Territorial Assembly.
The split widened following recent municipal elections, in which Géros lost his position as mayor of Paea. In the capital, Papeete, a pro-autonomy candidate won, while a pro-independence candidate who ran without Tavini’s endorsement scored 23.3 percent — more than double the official Tavini-backed candidate’s 11.03 percent.
The dissident MPs are seen as aligned with President Moetai Brotherson, 56, who became French Polynesia’s head of government in May 2023 and is Temaru’s son-in-law. Brotherson has adopted a less confrontational approach toward the French government, contrasting with the party’s historic hardline stance.
A key point of disagreement involves deep-sea mineral exploitation. Temaru is in favour of it as a potential economic pathway to independence, while Brotherson and the younger MPs oppose it, aligning with the French government’s environmental concerns.
The Territorial Assembly is scheduled to convene next on April 9. Tavini has held several emergency meetings over the weekend to reconcile the factions, but none have been conclusive.
“If nothing comes out of this meeting, then Tavini Huiraatira will take action on 9 April,” the party wrote on social media.
On Good Friday, Temaru quoted Jesus Christ: “Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing,” while acknowledging there were “reasons to be worried.”
Brotherson posted separately: “While some are meeting in tribunal mode, on this Good Friday, I prefer to leave it to God.”
The next territorial elections are scheduled for 2028.
