About this article ...
p. 25 · Read in the full issue
The article beginning on this page is a translation of La France et le Pacifique Sud, a study appearing in the March 1980 issue of the semi-official Paris monthly, Regards sur I’actualite. published by La Documen tation Fran9aise.
Passing a copy of the pub lication to PIM, a Canberra based French diplomat explained that signed articles in Regards represented the views of the writer, but unsigned articles could generally be taken as representing the official French position. The article translated here was un signed.
PIM publishes it in its capacity as a journal of record on Pacific Islands matters, and in the hope of
stimulating discussion on a subject which has been, and remains, a controversial one in all Pacific communities.
Although its presence in the South Pacific is obvi ously an important issue for France, in order to keep matters in perspective it should be noted that the article translated here was ranked fifth out of five major articles appearing in the issue of Regards in which it appeared. The first three concentrated on the way the French parliament operates, and the fourth on aspects of the employment problem in France.
The article has been translated into English by PIM Associate Editor Malcolm Salmon.