The amended autonomy statute for French Polynesia has been changed by the French National Assembly after being adopted by the French Senate.
There had been objection to a clause which said French Polynesia contributed to the French plan to become a nuclear power.
Picture taken in 1971, showing a nuclear explosion in Mururoa atoll. Photo: AFP
In the Assembly debate, French Polynesian representatives restated that the wording was insulting and suggested that it be altered to say that French Polynesia was made to contribute to the weapons tests.
After agreeing to the alternation of the text, the Assembly voted for the amendment.
Because of the change, a joint commmission made up of both chambers will have to meet and agree on the final wording of the new statute.
Two months ago, the French Polynesian president Edouard Fritch said the main point of the revised statute was to calm domestic and international opinion about the weapons test legacy.
France carried out 193 tests in French Polynesia between 1966 and 1996.
