29 Nov 2004

Gaston Flosse may walk away from talks in Paris to resolve French Polynesia's political crisis

3:21 pm on 29 November 2004

Gaston Flosse says he will walk away from talks in Paris to resolve French Polynesia's political crisis, if protestors do not end their occupation of the presidential palace.

A spokesperson for his administration, Jean-Christophe Bouissou, says supporters of Oscar Temaru, a rival claimant to the presidency, are still refusing to leave the palace despite the passing of a Supreme Court deadline ordering them to do so.

An agreement was reached at the talks in Paris that fresh general elections would be held if the occupation ended but Mr Bouissou says that's now under question.

And, he says Mr Flosse will get on a plane home tomorrow if Mr Temaru cannot persuade his supporters to leave the palace.

"He told them that if this time, there's no news about some kind of movement going out of these buildings, he might come back to French Polynesia on Monday or Tuesday."

Mr Bouissou says Mr Flosse will revert to their earlier position to hold elections in Tahiti/Moorea in February, as ordered by the High Court.