The President Came to Town!

“He’s coming in on Saturday,” a friend told us. “The president of French Polynesia!”

French Polynesia holds a unique status among French territories in that it’s the only one with an elected president. Other than the French president, I mean. This guy, a member of the independence party, was elected in 2023. And by sheer luck, we were going to be in Gambiers when he came for a look-see.

*Back of the drum chorus on arrival day*

You had a hint that something was up when you heard the drum practice going late into the evenings and starting up promptly in the mornings. That or someone just really likes their rhythm beats, I guess. On our first Wednesday, the whole set up was on the dock after school let out, big drums and seats and everything set up in a semi-circle, kids wailing away like their lives depended on it.

*Not-zoomed-in photo of the last rehearsal*

Then, last Saturday, when the ferry from the airport was due, the drum set up again, this time with lots of people holding leis and cardboard signs. We figured it must be a lead up of sorts, where the kids first practiced, then practiced on the dock, then practiced on the dock as the ferry arrived.

One final rehearsal on the dock on Wednesday the 11th, this time complete with a crush of spectators. They practiced until it got dark, giving all the boats in the anchorage a spectacular musical backdrop for sundowners. Saturday would be the big day.

Saturday. Valentine’s Day.

*The dock was decorated, even the side away from where the ferry docks*

The first thing that caught our eyes that morning was the movement. The fluttering of the caution tape tied to traffic cones along the dock. The 2 - and only 2 - kids mock-fighting nearby. The movement drew the eye, as it does, revealing a cluster of people huddling in the shade under the bus-stop-looking structure next to the dinghy dock. Then you really started paying attention, recognizing the rooster chorus but today being almost drowned out by the drum cadence.

Then the ferry - really an airport shuttle - wove its way through the anchorage, picking up a few people and tooting their “get aboard or you’ll be left behind” horn, then heading out through the channel.

“Twelve twenty four,” Jeremy said, referring to when the flight was supposed to land at the airport. Which is on a motu across the lagoon. Hence the need for the ferry.

On the dock, movement shifted. Bright green t-shirted school kids moved bright green plastic chairs to set up in a semi-circle, drums in hand. People started gathering. The flowers were visible from the boat.

*This one could not care a bit about the hoopla*

The incoming ferry caught our eyes. Our nearest neighbors, a German-flagged aluminum sloop, sped by in the dinghy, dressed for church. Another dinghy went past, a cruiser clad in a t-shirt and shorts, wearing a backpack. Time to go.

The dock slowly filled up.. The drum band took their places. More green-shirted school kids with leafy headdresses assumed positions in a geometric pattern facing the dock, their director in the front. Initially we thought he was wearing a tree costume. He had on a layered grass skirt, and a headdress that looked for all the world like an electrical-socketed stalk of bananas on his head.

Shell leis, flower leis, palm and banana frond leis. Flowers like crowns of thorns worn like halos. Hugs given, cardboard signs with names printed in black Sharpie held aloft. Meanwhile the drum chorus beats in the background. The dancers bow and twist and weave, all led by a director wearing grass skirts and a huge headdress. Phones flash as everyone, spectators and visitors and travelers, even the crew on the ferry, take reminders of what they’re seeing right in front of them.

The honored visitors are adorned with lei after lei, rounds of purple flowers or orange flowers or white flowers or green and blue flowers, so prevalent the perfume hangs in the air like a promise. There are so many leis given, each a joyous tribute and expression of welcome, that a hand sneaks up to press the pile down so the wearer can actually see.

*This guy had a few leis around his neck - I think he is the president of the assembly of FP*

When the president goes to stand with the drum band, people race in to photobomb, and then get sidetracked with seeing friends.

*The President has all the leis on. That’s the party flag flying behind him.*

Imagine - I can’t - a situation where any high level elected official in the US travels by regular transport. This President took the regularly scheduled commercial flight (there are 2 a week), the regularly scheduled ferry shuttle. He was on the ferry with regular people. There are some lessons to be learned.

*You can see some regular tourists in the mix*

On Sunday a whole day was planned, taking the president around to various holy sites on the island. There would be singing and drumming and dancing at every stop. Though we missed taking part in the parade, we were at the dock for the send off, which involved a whole lot of pickup trucks all adorned with flowers and flags and people, plus a tour bus or school bus of some kind filled with locals.

*Pick up truck, ready to join the parade*

*Headwear of all kinds. Note the flowers on the light pole.*

I’m just sorry we missed sneaking into one of the photos. Still, we can say we’ve seen the President of French Polynesia!