Teahupoo’s new bridge built for the Olympics. Photo: Polynésie la 1ère
Olympics legacy for Teahupoo
The French Olympics surfing event held on Tahiti's Teahupoo beach have now left a legacy for the use of local residents.
Among the infrastructure built especially to host aficionados, Teahupoo commune now has a brand new marina and a bridge.
The once-controversial judges' tower will also be re-erected during the next international World Surfing League competition.
Even the green, blue, pink and purple Paris 2024-labelled signage, panels and tarpaulins, are currently being recycled.
A local humanitarian foundation, FACE Polynésie, has been tasked with the massive "up-cycling", involving the production of one thousand pencil cases and one thousand school bags.
The school items will be donated to local associations for the benefit of the less-favoured by the end of September, Tahiti Nui Television reports.
Kauli Vaast welcomed home at Tahiti-Faa’a international airport. Photo: TNTV
Historic gold medal surfer welcomed as hero
Homeboy surfer Kauli Vaast, 22, who is the first French and Polynesian to win a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, was welcomed at the weekend as a hero.
Hundreds of supporters had massed on Friday evening (Thursday Tahiti time) to give him a fully-fledged welcome, involving Tahitian songs and dances and heaps of flower garlands.
Before returning to French Polynesia, Vaast had also spent some time after his historic win to surf on the river Seine in Paris.
Tahiti airlines trade unions rebuffed by members
Tahiti airlines union leaders have now withdrawn their threat to strike after the move was openly contested by their own members.
The strike intentions were earlier made known by domestic carriers Air Moana and Air Tahiti, as well as international Air Tahiti Nui.
The last strike notice standing, by Air Moana's union, was withdrawn as a result of a memorandum of agreement signed with the company's management.
Union member staff had also turned up to show their disapproval of the strike notice.
"We are not just pawns on a chessboard. A decision to strike must come from the base and then move up. Not the contrary. And in this case, some have decided for us and asked us to strike," navigating staff union secretary general Titaina Viriamu told Polynésie la 1ère.
"I don't need their approval to lodge claims because I know these issues are not new, including employment of part-time staff," CSIP union secretary general Cyril Legayic said.
The domestic airlines, each year at this time, are faced with the important task of transporting thousands of students from French Polynesia's outer islands back to secondary schools on the main island of Tahiti, covering an area equivalent to that of Europe.
However, a strike movement is still ongoing and remains unresolved at Aéroports de Tahiti (ADT), the entity that manages Tahiti's international airport of Tahiti-Faa'a.
Frédéric Benet-Chambellan, 62, replaces Thomas Pison as French Polynesia’s new public prosecutor. Photo: TNTV
New public prosecutor for Papeete
Frédéric Benet-Chambellan, 62, who takes over from outgoing Thomas Pison as the new public prosecutor for Papeete.
Benet-Chambellan has previously served in several French cities, including Rennes and Rouen.
It is his first posting in a French overseas entity.
He said his intentions were to pursue the priorities engaged over the past few years by his predecessors in terms of criminality, including the fight against drug trafficking (especially methamphetamines crystal), domestic violence and road fatalities.
Church targeted by arson
One more church has been targeted by arsonists in New Caledonia.
The church of Tyé, in the town of Poindimié, was set on fire on Wednesday night 14 August.
Nouméa Public Prosecutor Yves Dupas said investigations were ongoing in order to identify the persons responsible for the "intolerable" acts.
Several other significant Catholic church buildings were targeted and destroyed at various levels in New Caledonia over the past few weeks.
They include historic Catholic missions in Saint Louis (near Nouméa), Vao (Isle of Pines), Touho, as well as the Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Nouméa.
Société Le Nickel mining centre in Thio on fire. Photo: RRB
Nickel mining site partially destroyed
Mining facilities on the nickel extraction site of Thio (East coast of the main island, Grande Terre) were partially destroyed last week.
The facilities belong to French Société Le Nickel (SLN, a subsidiary of French mining giant Eramet who also owns one of the three nickel smelters in the French Pacific entity).
The damages include a nickel ore conveyor belt (locally known as the "serpentine") and are said to jeopardise the employment of hundreds of workers, whether directly employed by SLN or sub-contractors.
SLN director general Guillaume Kurek said this "action carried out by a small group" potentially affected "over two thousand" persons and their families.
The incident comes hours after one more person was killed on Thursday 15 August 2024 following clashes between gendarmes and a group of rioters on a bridge leading to Thio.
French security forces said they were attempting to remove roadblocks and used firearms after being shot at by rioters.
Investigations into the incident, including by French gendarmerie internal services, have been launched, Public Prosecutor Yves Dupas told local media.
US Coastguard vessel “Harriet Lane” Commander Nicole Tesoniero during stopover in Papeete. Photo: TNTV
US Coastguard's vessel stops over in Tahiti
US Coastguard's vessel Harriet Lane was on a stopover this weekend in Papeete, returning from a two-month Pacific monitoring mission codenamed 'Blue Pacific' in Tuvalu, Tonga, Samoa, Niue and the Cook Islands.
The US vessel has co-operated on several occasions with Tahiti-based French Naval forces in the wider Pacific region, especially on missions ranging from search and rescue to monitoring of illegal and unreported fishing vessels.
The US Coastguard's 'Cutter' Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) was re-affected to the Pearl Harbour-based US fleet in December 2023.
Commanding Officer Nicole Tesoniero told local media the vessel comes in support of the US government's Indo-Pacific strategy and "serves to increase the Coastguards' presence in the Pacific Island States".
During the stopover in Tahiti, Commander Tesoniero also held a de-brief and information sharing session with the Papeete-based French Polynesian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC).
