Papeete

Papeete
PapeeteWaterfront2003.jpg
Papeete Waterfront
Papeete1.png
Location of the commune (in red) within the Windward Islands
Administration
Country France
Overseas collectivity French Polynesia
Administrative subdivision Windward Islands
(administrative capital)
Mayor Michel Buillard
(1995–present)
Statistics
Elevation 0–621 m (0–2,037 ft)
Land area 17.4 km2 (6.7 sq mi)
Population1 26,017  (August 2007 census)
 - Density 1,495 /km2 (3,870 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 98735/ 98714
1 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Papeete (pronounced [papeʔete]) is the capital of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune (municipality) of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, of which Papeete is the administrative capital. The French High Commissioner also resides in Papeete.[1] It is the primary center of Tahitian and French Polynesian public and private governmental, commercial, industrial and financial services, the hub of French Polynesian tourism and a commonly used Port of call.[1] The Windward Islands are themselves part of the Society Islands. The name Papeete means "water from a basket"[2].

The urban area of Papeete had a total population of 131,695 inhabitants at the August 2007 census, 26,017 of whom lived in the commune of Papeete proper.[3]

Contents

History

The growth of the city was boosted by the decision to move the nuclear weapon test range from Algeria to the atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa, some 1,500 km (930 mi) at the east of Tahiti; this originated in particular in the construction of the Faa'a airport next to Pape'ete, the only international airport in French Polynesia. In 1983, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built the Papeete Tahiti Temple here because of the large number of members in the region. On 5 September 1995 the government of Jacques Chirac conducted the first of the last series of nuclear test detonations off the shores of Moruroa. A resulting riot in Papeete lasted for two days and damaged the international airport, injured 40 people, and scared away tourism for some time.[4][5](Similar rioting occurred after another French nuclear test in the same area in 1987).

Demographics

Districts de Tahiti.png
Papeete Cathedral

The urban area of Papeete had a total population of 131,695 inhabitants at the August 2007 census, 26,017 of whom lived in the commune of Papeete proper. The urban area of Papeete is made up of seven communes:

The commune of Papeete is subdivided into twelve quartiers (wards):

[6] Construction has boomed since the 1960s due to an influx of 35,000 immigrants (20,000 from metropolitan France and 15,000 from French Polynesia's outer islands) in response to an improved infrastructure and France's nuclear testing program.[1]

Travel and tourism

Presidency of Papeete

Arrival and departure

Traveling tourists arrive and depart Papeete via cruise ship at Papeete Harbor or domestic airline at Faa'a International Airport, which was completed and opened in 1962.

Transportation

Primary roads consist of the three-lane "Boulevard Pomare" along the city's harbor front which extends into a four-lane highway.

Climate

Papeete-kliima.svg

Papeete features a tropical monsoon climate with a wet season and dry season. However, precipitation is observed even during the city's dry season. The city dry season is short, covering only the months of August and September. The rest of the year is wet, with the heaviest precipitation falling in the months of December and January. Temperatures are relatively constant throughout the course of the year, averaging around 25 degrees celsius.

Sights

City marketplace

Papeete Market

Papeete in popular culture

Economy

Air Tahiti Nui has its headquarters in Papeete.[7]

Note

The name Papeete is sometimes spelled Pape’ete in Tahitian, using the apostrophe (in fact a variant of it hard to differentiate from the regular apostrophe when using small fonts) to represent the glottal stop, as promoted by the Académie Tahitienne and accepted by the territorial government [8]. This apostrophe, however, is often omitted.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kay, p106
  2. ↑ Kay, p102
  3. ↑ (French) Institut Statistique de Polynésie Française (ISPF). "Recensement de la population 2007" (PDF). http://www.ispf.pf/(k1aciwf4z0fyap45ghzhgm55)/stat/demo/rp2007/pdfs/poplegales2007.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-02. 
  4. ↑ New York Times coverage of Atomic tests resumption in Tahiti
  5. ↑ New York Times coverage of riot at Tahiti's international airport
  6. ↑ [1][2]
  7. ↑ "Worldwide Offices and Sales Agents." Air Tahiti Nui. Retrieved on 26 February 2010.
  8. ↑ [3]

References

External links

Capitals of Oceania
Capitals of non-sovereign territories shown in SmallCaps
1 Often included in Polynesia.  2 Often included in Southeast Asia.  3 Often included in Australasia.  4 Territory of Australia.  5 In free association with New Zealand.  6 Overseas collectivity of France.  7 Insular area of the United States.  8 U.S. state.  9 Territory of Chile.  10 Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.