Less than a month after his visit to New Caledonia with the President of the Republic, Gérald Darmanin arrives in Polynesia. He is staying for four days.
Politics
Gérald Darmanin will of course meet the territory’s new president, the independentist Moetai Brotherson. He will also hold talks with the pro-independence president of the Polynesian Assembly, Antony Géros. Gérald Darmanin is one of the most important ministers in the government of the French Republic, but he is not responsible for political and strategic issues. Those are reserved for President Emmanuel Macron and his Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne. It won’t be long before we find out whether these visits are just a courtesy or whether they have a high political value…
Sport: Olympic Games
The Minister for the Interior and Overseas France is not arriving alone. He is accompanied by his Minister Delegate for Overseas Territories, Philippe Vigier, and the Minister for Sport, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. The ministers will be focusing on the Olympic Games. The 2024 Olympic Games will be held in France. Polynesia will host the surfing events on the legendary Teahupo’o wave. The ministerial delegation will have a foretaste of the spectacle, as a major surfing competition is currently taking place in Tahiti (the Tahiti Pro).
Law enforcement
Gérald Darmanin will also visit several police stations and gendarmeries (Papara, Paopao and Papeete). The Minister of the Interior will no doubt raise the issue of drug trafficking, as Polynesia is a victim of various ice traffics. Emmanuel Macron’s minister is also likely to raise the issue of working conditions within the police force. The police commander was recently sacked for moral harassment. Darmanin will attend the installation ceremony of the new commander).
Visit to the Marquesas Islands
The Minister for the Interior and Overseas France will spend a day and a half in the Marquesas Islands, 1,500 km from Tahiti. The archipelago submitted its application to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in January. Gérald Darmanin will visit the archaeological site of Upeke. He will also pay a visit to Kaukara. This is an atoll near Rangiroa where he will inaugurate a survival shelter and visit the village’s protective dike. A visit to the Pacific by a French minister necessarily includes a segment devoted to the environment…
