Paris also, this election is an important issue. First it is for the power of Nicolas Sarkozy to definitively turn the page on the period Chirac in overseas by renewal of the personnel policy right. So was the recent disappearance, at the legislative elections of June, two iconic figures of the ultra-marin RPR: the West Indies, the Guadeloupéenne Lucette Michaux-Chevry and his remaining supporters, and in New Caledonia, Jacques Lafleur. Still, in Polynesia, Gaston Flosse, who liked to run as the great friend of Jacques Chirac and which, through the local institutional system, also trimmed to its extent, continued in the political game despite its defeat in the territorial elections of 2004. It is from an unholy alliance with its old enemy, the independentist Oscar Temaru, has allowed it access to the Presidency of the territory against Gaston Tong blood, the ally of power sarkozyste.
The situation could not displeasing to the Elysee Palace, which was responsible for Christian Estrosi and non-Michèle Alliot-Marie, yet responsible Minister to "review" the local institutional functioning to give more stability policy in the territory. Secretary of State has sealed off in a few months a reform, adopted at the end of the year last by Parliament ("Les Echos" from November 26), which will therefore know Sunday his first test of fire. The Socialist opposition sees this as a "coup" that would only to taking on Oscar Temaru. Indeed, the new electoral system is not favourable to the UPLD, the Party of the Polynesian ally of the PS, which will be difficult to get to him only a majority. But the reverse is also true to the right for each of the other two blocks. Perhaps Paris hoped an alliance of circumstances between the two enemy brothers that would allow former President Gaston Tong Sang to return to power.

Control of public funds
If the Organic Act of Christian Estrosi is really objective, is however not the only one. Reform has also strengthened control of funds public, long used here for the purposes of patronage, and corruption. And Christian Estrosi would like to go further still to strengthen, on a new organic law, the power of the Commons, too dependent on subsidies managed by Papeete.
Finally, if the Polynesia gets sought stability, reached goal is still not thin. After four years of incessant reversal of alliances with Governments, the economic development of the territory was fragile, even if Paris continues to inject about 1.3 billion euros per year, or more than one-quarter of the GDP of the archipelago. The Polynesian community also still has no budget for 2008 and adopted a contract for project truncated with the State.
In the background, the geostrategic considerations are not nor absent from la part played to 18,000 km of Paris: regional neighbours such as the Australia may indeed fear that instability in these huge territories under French influence (only 260,000 inhabitants but as large as Europe) spreads in the micro-Etats of a Pacific zone, and exposing more Chinese influence ever very far.