A week later 20,000 marched on the streets of Papeete - about 10% of the local population:
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1222402.htm
Last Updated 18/10/2004, 19:28:02
More than 20,000 people have taken to the streets of French Polynesia's capital, Pape'ete, to call for the dissolution of a deadlocked parliament and fresh elections.
The march was called in support of Oscar Temaru, whose government was ousted in a motion of no confidence a week ago.
Mr Temaru says he has never seen such support before.
The French Socialist party sent a four-member delegation to support the march, including former government minister, Christian Paul.
Mr Paul has said in recent weeks that there have been acts of "methodical destabilisation" on the part of the French government.
He's calling on the French President, Jacques Chirac, to act "as a referee and not as a partisan", in order to "avoid a period of unrest and confrontation."
Mr Paul says the people of French Polynesia decided in May to trust a new government and that choice should be respected.
The former president Gaston Flosse was returned to power in a new vote in assembly:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apaa_story.asp?category=1106&slug=French%20Polynesia%20President
French Polynesia leader restored to power
By JULIEN BOUILLE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
PAPEETE, Tahiti -- French Polynesia's ousted conservative president has been returned to power in a defeat for advocates of the French territory's independence movement.
Longtime President Gaston Flosse was re-elected by the parliament with 29 out of 57 votes. Twenty-eight of the assembly's pro-independence supporters boycotted the vote.
The election was the latest twist in a tumultuous few months of political upheaval for the island group in the South Pacific.
Flosse, 73, a close ally of French President Jacques Chirac, had served as president of the territory since 1982, with a three-year break from 1988-1991.
But in May legislative elections, Flosse's conservatives suffered an unexpected defeat, and pro-independence candidate Oscar Temaru assumed the presidency.
Temaru has said he wants to move the territory - made up of 121 islands with a total population of 240,000 - to independence from France.
His presidency was cut short, however, when the parliament approved a censure vote Oct. 9 that removed him from power.
The vote paved the way for Flosse's comeback and sparked protests of unprecedented size. Some 15,000 marched in the streets on Oct. 16 in support of Temaru.
Flosse supporters, like conservative lawmaker Eric Raoult, hailed Friday's vote as a "necessary return to calm."
Temaru sought to overturn the censure motion by filing a legal appeal to the Paris-based Council of State. But the council, France's highest administrative body, rejected the bid Saturday, saying the censure vote followed proper procedure and was valid.
Temaru and his allies have accused Chirac of "maneuvers" to restore Flosse. Temaru is backed by some opposition Socialist Party lawmakers from the French mainland.
Former French Culture Minister Jack Lang, among other Socialists, has urged Chirac to dissolve the Polynesian assembly to end a "sort of coup d'etat" that was "ordered by the powers in Paris."
France's minister for overseas territories, Brigitte Giradin, has denied that Paris orchestrated Temaru's downfall and has refused on several occasions to dissolve the islands' parliament.