A pro-independence politician in French Polynesia says today's autonomy commemoration will be a day of mourning.
On this day in 1880, France annexed the Kingdom of Tahiti.
The pro-autonomy politician Gaston Flosse made June 29th a public holiday to mark an autonomy statute.
But the pro-independence Tavini party's Sabrina Birk says the day serves as a reminder of what happened in 1880 when King Pomare signed the treaty of annexation.
"It is like a devoir de memoire to remind our youth how we lost our country through this King who was probably too greedy and under the effect of alcohol"
Sabrina Birk.
