Editing Tahiti (section)

== Politics ==
{{Further|Politics of French Polynesia}}
[[File:Flag of French Polynesia.svg|thumb|upright=0.6|Flag of French Polynesia]]
[[File:Oceania Political Map (EEZ based).png|thumb|upright=1.8|Political map of Oceania, showing [[Exclusive economic zone|EEZ]] borders]]

Tahiti is part of French Polynesia. French Polynesia is a semi-autonomous territory of France with its own [[Politics of French Polynesia|assembly, president, budget and laws]]. France's influence is limited to subsidies, education, and security.

Tahitians are French citizens with complete civil and political rights. French is the official language, but Tahitian and French are both in use. However there was a time during the 1960s and 1970s when children were forbidden to speak Tahitian in schools. Tahitian is now taught in schools; it is sometimes even a requirement for employment.

During a press conference on 26 June 2006 during the second France-Oceania Summit, French President [[Jacques Chirac]] said he did not think the majority of Tahitians wanted independence. He would keep an open door to a possible [[referendum]] in the future.

Elections for the [[Assembly of French Polynesia]], the Territorial Assembly of French Polynesia, were [[2004 French Polynesian legislative election|held on 23 May 2004]].

In a surprise result, [[Oscar Temaru]]'s pro-independence progressive coalition, [[List of political parties in French Polynesia|Union for Democracy]], formed a government with a one-seat majority in the 57-seat parliament, defeating the conservative party, [[Tahoera'a Huiraatira|Tāhō{{okina}}era{{okina}}a Huira{{okina}}atira]], led by [[Gaston Flosse]]. On 8 October 2004, Flosse succeeded in passing a censure motion against the government, provoking a crisis.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Trémon |first=Anne-Christine |title=Conflicting Autonomist and Independentist Logics in French Polynesia |date=2006 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20707349 |journal=The Journal of the Polynesian Society |volume=115 |issue=3 |pages=259–288 |jstor=20707349 |issn=0032-4000 |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318234221/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20707349 |url-status=live}}</ref> Flosse was removed from office in 2004 but was subsequently re-elected in 2008 after a period of political instability. His main rival Oscar Temaru served as the President of French Polynesia during multiple terms: 2004-2005, 2006-2008, and 2009-2013. He led the left-wing pro-independence party, Union for Democracy (UPLD). Temaru focused on greater autonomy for French Polynesia and calls for independence.<ref>Wesley-Smith, Terence, Gerard Finin, and Tarcisius Kabutaulaka. "An Interview with Oscar Temaru." ''The Contemporary Pacific'' 25.2 (2013): 300-307. [https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/33580/1/v25n2-300-307.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103104743/https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/33580/1/v25n2-300-307.pdf |date=3 November 2018}}</ref>