colony · North America and Oceania
French Polynesia
Origins
In 1946 the French Establishments in Oceania became an overseas territory of the French Union, and in 1957 it was renamed French Polynesia. The nationalist leader Pouvanaa a Oopa, who campaigned for independence, was arrested in 1958 and exiled after a disputed conviction.
Rule and society
From 1966 to 1996 France carried out 193 nuclear tests at Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls, first in the atmosphere and later underground, bringing money and jobs but lasting health and environmental harm. The resumption of testing in 1995 caused riots in Papeete. Statutes of 1984, 1996 and 2004 extended autonomy, and politics was long a contest between Gaston Flosse, favouring ties to France, and the pro-independence Oscar Temaru.
To the present
French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity with its own president and assembly. The United Nations relisted it as a non-self-governing territory in 2013. Tourism and black pearls are the main earners alongside French subsidies.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- French Polynesia was part of French Fourth Republic1946 CE – 1958 CE
- French Polynesia was part of French Fifth Republic1958 CE – 2030 CE
More states of North America and Oceania →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). French Polynesia. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-polynesia
- MLA
- “French Polynesia.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-polynesia. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “French Polynesia.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-polynesia.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘French Polynesia’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-polynesia (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻