French try to "adjust" gender balance bill

FRENCH SENATE STILL TRIES TO ADJUST GENDER BALANCE BILL TO FRENCH PACIFIC TERRITORIES

PAPE'ETE, April 30 (OFO) - The French Senate in Paris is still trying to adapt a controversial gender balance bill to the French Pacific territories, which oppose the plan, saying their respective societies are "not ready", daily newspaper Les Nouvelles de Tahiti reports on Friday.

Some representatives of the French Pacific territories of New Caledonia,

Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesia had strongly to the bill, which purports to introduce a degree of proportionality in election in France and its territories.

The bill also aims at giving equal access to women and men to contest elections.

A Senate sub-committee was working last week on a proposed amendment to the metropolitan bill, which would only be made enforceable in the three Pacific territories after next year.

One of the options currently studied is to make the gender balance law applicable only in towns with a population exceeding 3,500.

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