On paper, the islands of Wallis and Futuna (a French overseas community in Polynesia) could be an ideal place to settle, as Gauguin did in Tahiti. Benign tropical climate, beaches full of palm trees, coconuts left and right, even free public healthcare. True, the currency is not the euro, but the Pacific franc, a minor inconvenience. But the alarms, if one plays with the idea of a golden retirement (or pre-retirement) away from the madding crowd, sound when they start searching online for houses to buy or rent and the answer is that “there are none available at this time.”
Because? The reality is that Wallis (named after British explorer Samuel Wallis) and Futuna are extraordinarily poor. There is not a single cinema, theater or newspaper. A single bank, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas (there was another, but it closed). A total of 12,000 inhabitants, which are becoming fewer and fewer because young people emigrate to New Caledonia, where there is more work, money and life. The economy is supported by subsistence agriculture and livestock, the sale of fishing licenses to Japanese and South Koreans, which emigrants command, and, above all, subsidies from the French State. Exports, minimal. Tourism, null. Paradise, in theory. And everything, due to the isolation and lack of raw materials, costs between 20% and 40% more than in Europe. What it does export, despite its small population, are rugby players. When France took the territory in the mid-19th century, perhaps it did so with the idea of establishing a penal colony, as in New Caledonia (where thousands of political dissidents were sent). But what he did not imagine is that his main wealth would be excellent props, hookers and flankers who speak French, have absorbed the French culture and use their strength, height and excellent physical attributes to succeed in the Top 14 and in the national team.
In the French squad that lost in a match against South Africa on Sunday, and has suffered the hard blow of not being able to win the title at the Stade de France, there were three players with their roots in Wallis and Futuna: Peato Mauvaka, Yoram Moefana and Romain Taofifénua. Another one, Sipili Falatea, was part of the team that competed in the World Cup, although he was not called up. And before them there have been other internationals from the islands, such as Rodrigue Befi, Vincent Pelo and Sebastien Vahaamahina. French first and second division teams have long had ties with Fijian schools and academy (which put England in check in another quarter-final match), and some Fijians (Alivereti Raka, Virini Yakatawa, Noa Nakaitaci. ..) French internationals arrived as residents in the country. But the natives of Wallis and Futuna find it much easier to integrate, and are welcomed by families from Grenoble, Lyon, Toulouse or Montpellier.
Just as there is a strong independence movement in New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna (perhaps to contradict its neighbors) boasts links with France. Disputes between the different aristocratic clans abound, there are hardly any roads and public services are so scarce that foreigners who settle are viewed with suspicion.
–Shall we meet for dinner one of these days?, a friend or acquaintance with whom you don't have much contact with says to you on WhatsApp. –Okay, but now I live in Wallis and Futune, it's a bit far....- Where is that, man, Maresme, Empordà, Western Vallès, near Matadepera...? The show will have to wait. To disappear from the map, perhaps Tahiti would be better to start with...
