France’s credentials in hosting a global ocean conference have been challenged by Pacific groups, movements and civil society organisations, who believe that unless it is accountable for its actions in the Pacific, it is just an attempt at rebranding.
The call for accountability comes amidst the French-sponsored United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice this week, at which President Macron will be hosting the France-Pacific Summit. French officials have referred to the UNOC event as a coming together “…in the true spirit of Talanoa” and one that would be inconceivable without the Pacific.
While acknowledging the importance of leveraging global partnerships for urgent climate action and ocean protection through the UNOC process, Pacific civil society firmly believes that our leaders must hold France accountable for its past actions and not allow it to launder its dirty linen in ‘Blue Pacific’ and ‘critical transition’ narratives.
France’s claims of being a responsible steward of the ocean are undermined by its historical actions in the Pacific. This includes:
A brutal colonial legacy dating back to the mid-1800s, with the annexation of island nations now known as Kanaky-New Caledonia and Ma’ohi Nui-French Polynesia;
A refusal to complete the decolonisation process, and in fact the perpetuation of the colonial condition, particularly for the aforementioned ‘territories’ on the UN decolonisation list. In Kanaky-New Caledonia, for instance, France and its agents continue to renege on longstanding decolonisation commitments, while weaponising democratic ideals and processes such as ‘universal’ voting rights to deny the fundamental rights of the indigenous population to self-determination;
30 years of nuclear violence in Ma’ohi Nui-French Polynesia with 193 test detonations – 46 in the atmosphere and close to 150 under the Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls, irradiating both land and sea, and people. Approximately 90% of the local population was exposed to radioactive fallout, resulting in long-term health impacts, including elevated rates of cancer and other radiation-related illnesses;
Active efforts to obscure the true extent of its nuclear violence in Maʻohi Nui-French Polynesia, diverting resources to discredit independent research and obstructing transparency around health and environmental impacts. These actions reveal a persistent pattern of denial and narrative control that continues to undermine compensation efforts and delay justice for victims and communities;
French claims to approximately one-third of the Pacific’s combined EEZ, and to being the world’s second largest ocean state, accruing largely from its so-called Pacific dependencies;
The supply of French military equipment, and the 1985 bombing of the Greenpeace flagship ‘Rainbow Warrior’ by French secret service agents — a state-sponsored terrorist attack, the 40th anniversary of which is marked this year.
Since the late 1980s, France has worked to build on diplomatic, development and defence fronts to garner support from Pacific governments. This includes development assistance through the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Asian Development Fund, language and cultural exchanges, scientific collaboration and humanitarian assistance.
A strong diplomatic presence in Pacific capitals as well as a full schedule of high-level exchanges, including a triennial France-Oceania leaders’ Summit commencing in 2003, together function to enhance proximity with and inclination towards Paris sentiments and priorities.
French leadership at this UNOC process is once again central to its ongoing efforts to rebrand itself as a global leader on climate action, a champion of ocean protection, and a promoter of sovereignty.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
The reality is that France is rather more interested in strengthening its position as a middle power in an Indo-Pacific rather than a Pacific framework, and as a balancing power within the context of big-power rivalry between the US and China, all of which undermines rather than enhances Pacific sovereignty.
And, our leaders must not allow France to build this new global image on the foundations of its atrocities against Pacific peoples and our ocean continent.
Pacific civil society, therefore, calls on France:
For immediate and irreversible commitments and practical steps to bring its colonial presence in the Pacific to an end before the conclusion, in 2030, of the 4th International Decade on the Eradication of Colonialism;
To acknowledge and take responsibility for the oceanic and human harms caused by 30 years of nuclear violence in Maʻohi Nui–French Polynesia, and to commit to full and just reparations, including support for affected communities, environmental remediation of test sites, and full public disclosure of all health and contamination data.
We further call on Pacific Leaders to:
Keep France accountable for its multiple and longstanding debt to Pacific people;
Ensure that Ma’ohi Nui-French Polynesia and Kanaky-New Caledonia remain on the UN list of non-self-governing territories to be decolonised (UN decolonisation list).
Pacific leaders must ensure that France does not succeed in laundering its soiled linen – soiled by the blood of thousands of Pacific Islanders who resisted colonial occupation and/or who were used as test subjects for its industrial-military machinery – in the UNOC process.
– ENDS –
For media enquiries, contact:
Adam Wolfenden Deputy Coordinator Pacific Network on Globalisation Email: campaigner@pang.org.fj
Rev James Bhagwan General Secretary Pacific Conference of Churches Email: jamesb@pcc.org.fj
ENDORSED BY:
350.org Pacific
Alice Springs Peace Action Think Tank (ASPATT)
Alliance for Future Generations-Fiji
Centre for Counter Hegemonic Studies
Civil Society Forum of Tonga
Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
Council of Pacific Education (COPE)
DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era)
DJ PTE LTD
Fiji Nuclear Veterans and Families Association
Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre
For Mother Earth
Global Candlelight Action-Hamburg
GPPAC Pacific
Hawaiʻi Institute for Human Rights
Hunter Peace Group
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)
ICAN Aotearoa New Zealand
International Peace Research Association
JOJIKUM
LABRATS
LEAF of Hudson Valley
Marshallese Educational Initiative
Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia)
Moana Nui Action Alliance
Moruroa e Tātou
Nuclear Truth Project
Pacific Climate Custodians
Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC)
Pacific Islands Council of Qld Inc.
Pacific Migration Partners
Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG)
PacificwinPacific
Pacific Youth Platform
Palau Resource Institute (PRI)
Peace Movement Aotearoa
Project Sepik Inc
Snake River Alliance
Social Empowerment and Education Programme (SEEP)
Soqosoqo Vakamarama iTaukei
TAPOL
Te Kuaka
Ulin Maho Association
West Papua Action Tamaki
World Without Wars and Violence, Greece
Vanuatu Indigenous Land Defense Desk (VILDD)
Youngsolwara Pacific
Young Women’s Christian Association of Fiji
The following organisations, movements and alliances endorsed the statement after its official release on 9th June 2025, in response to ongoing expressions of solidarity and support.
POST-PUBLICATION ENDORSEMENTS (as of 30th June 2025):
Aid/Watch
Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders
Australian Association for Pacific Studies
Criobe
Diverse Voices and Action (DIVA) for Equality
ECPAT/SELHAC
Emerging Leader Forum Alumni
Finafinau
Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment – Philippines
LA PAUSE DÉCOLONIALE
Mindeulle: Korea-Japan Youth Initiative for Anti-Nuclear Peace
Ministry of Health and Human Services (MOHHS), Republic of the Marshall Islands
MISA4ThePacific
nixe – habitat nucléaire
Oxfam in the Pacific
Pacific Sexuality and Gender Diverse Network (PSGDN)
