Marquesas Islands
These islands are also known to be French Polynesia. The term French Polynesia is applied to the scattered French possessions in the South Pacific—Mangareva (Gambier), Makatea, the Marquesas Islands, Rapa, Rurutu, Rimatara, the Society Islands, the Tuamotu Archipelago, Tubuai, Raivavae, and the island of Clipperton—which were organized into a single colony in 1903. There are 120 islands, of which 25 are uninhabited. The principal and most populous island—Tahiti, in the Society group—was claimed by the French in 1768. The indigenous people are mostly Maoris.The Pacific Nuclear Test Center on the atoll of Mururoa, 744 mi (1,200 km) from Tahiti, was completed in 1966. In 1975 worldwide opposition forced the French to move the testing underground on Fangataufa. To compensate the residents for the nuclear weapons tests from 1995 to 1996, France offered a 10-year $194-million annual compensation package. An independence movement continues to flourish in French Polynesia. In 2004, France changed its status from a French Overseas Territory to an Overseas Country, which gave French Polynesia more autonomy over local affairs. Due to a steady stream of shifting alliances and parliamentary motions of no-confidence, more than a dozen governments have come and gone during the period 2004 to 2011. The most recent, in April 2011, conducted in the face of pending legislation from France meant to stabilize the country's political situation, resulted in a no-confidence vote against the government of President Gaston Tong Sang. Oscar Temaru immediately became the new president.