Police in French Polynesia control movements during Covid-19 lockdown Photo: supplied FB French High Commission in French Polynesia
French Polynesia is set to adopt a French law which increases criminal liability for offenders under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The law would make it harder to claim drug use as a mitigating factor in cases of murder, rape or other forms of violence.
The French law was drawn up last year after the 2017 killing in Paris of a retired Jewish doctor.
The killer was declared not responsible and never tried in court because he was found to have acted under the influence of cannabis.
Another measure to be adopted is the tightening of the rules for road users who ignore police orders to stop.
An offender now risks having their vehicle confiscated.
Compensation to be paid to inmates
A French court has ordered the state to pay compensation to four inmates in French Polynesia for being held in substandard conditions.
The four have been awarded up to $US3,100 for being jailed in an degrading way in Tahiti's overcrowded Nuutania prison.
Their lawyer had argued the conditions were contrary to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The ruling by the Administrative Court of Appeal in Paris came after their demand for up to $US27,000 had been rejected by the courts in Papeete two years ago.
