Wallis and Futuna Wallis-et-Futuna (French) ʻUvea mo Futuna (Wallisian and Futunan)
Overseas collectivity of France
Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands Territoire des îles Wallis-et-Futuna (French)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" (French) (English: "Liberty, equality, fraternity")
Anthem: La Marseillaise ("The Marseillaise")
Location of Wallis and Futuna
Sovereign state	France
Protectorate over Wallis	5 April 1887
Protectorate over Alo and Sigave	16 February 1888
Separation from New Caledonia	29 July 1961
Current status	28 March 2003
Capital and largest city	Mata Utu 13°17′S 176°11′W / 13.283°S 176.183°W / -13.283; -176.183
Official languages	French
Common languages	Wallisian Futunan
Demonym(s)	Wallisian Futunan
Government	Devolved parliamentary dependency
• President of France	Emmanuel Macron
• Administrator Superior	Blaise Gourtay
• Assembly President	Munipoese Muli’aka’aka
• King of Uvea	Patalione Kanimoa
• King of Alo	Lino Leleivai
• King of Sigave	Eufenio Takala
Legislature	Territorial Assembly
French Parliament
• Senate	1 senator (of 377)
• National Assembly	1 seat (of 577)
Area
• Total	142.42 km2 (54.99 sq mi)
• Water (%)	negligible
Highest elevation	524 m (1,719 ft)
Population
• 2023[1] census	11,151 (not ranked)
• Density	78.3/km2 (202.8/sq mi) (not ranked)
GDP (nominal)	2005 estimate
• Total	$188 million[2]
• Per capita	$12,640[2]
Currency	CFP franc (₣) (XPF)
Time zone	UTC+12:00
Driving side	right
Calling code	+681
ISO 3166 code	WF FR-WF
Internet TLD	.wf and .fr

Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands^[A][3] (/ˈwɒlɪs ... fuːˈtuːnə/), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast, Samoa to the east, and Tokelau to the northeast.

Mata Utu is its capital and largest city. The territory's land area is 142.42 km² (54.99 sq mi). It had a population of 11,151 at the July 2023 census (down from 14,944 at the 2003 census).^[1] The territory is made up of three main volcanic tropical islands and a number of tiny islets. It is divided into two island groups that lie about 260 km (160 mi) apart: the Wallis Islands (also known as Uvea) in the northeast; and the Hoorn Islands (also known as the Futuna Islands) in the southwest, including Futuna Island proper and the mostly uninhabited Alofi Island.

Since 28 March 2003, Wallis and Futuna has been a French overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer, or COM).^[4] Between 1961 and 2003, it had the status of a French overseas territory (territoire d'outre-mer, or TOM). Its official name did not change with the change in its status.

History

You can help expand this section with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (May 2021) Click for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the French article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at :fr:Histoire de Wallis-et-Futuna; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|fr|Histoire de Wallis-et-Futuna}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Early humansedit

The earliest signs of human habitation on these islands are artifacts characteristic of the Lapita culture, dating roughly to between 850 and 800 BCE. The islands served as natural stopover points for boat traffic, mostly between Fiji and Samoa. During Tongan invasions in the 15th and 16th centuries, the islands defended themselves with varying levels of resistance, but also accepted varying degrees of assimilation. Futuna retained more of its pre-Tongan cultural features, while Wallis underwent greater fundamental changes in its society, language, and culture.^[5] The original inhabitants built forts and other identifiable structures on the islands (many of which are in ruins), some of which are still partially intact. Oral history and archaeological evidence suggests that the Tongan invaders re-occupied and modified some of these structures. The oral history also preserves a cultural memory of relationships between Samoa and Futuna that are so longstanding, they are described in the islanders' origin stories.^[5]

European settlementsedit

Futuna was first put on European maps by Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire, during their circumnavigation of the globe, in 1616. They named the islands of Futuna "Hoornse Eylanden", after the Dutch town of Hoorn where they hailed from. This was later translated into French, as "Isles de Horne." The Wallis Islands are named after the British explorer Samuel Wallis, who sailed past them in 1767, after being the first European to visit Tahiti.^[6][7] The French were the first Europeans to settle in the territory,^[8] with the arrival of French missionaries in 1837, who converted the population to Roman Catholicism. Pierre Chanel, canonized in 1954, is a major patron saint of the island of Futuna and of the region.

On 5 April 1842, the missionaries asked for the protection of France, after the uprising of part of the local population. On 5 April 1887, the queen of Uvea (of the traditional chiefdom of Wallis) signed a treaty, officially establishing a French protectorate. The kings of Sigave and Alo (on the islands of Futuna and Alofi) also signed a treaty establishing a French protectorate, on 16 February 1888. From that moment, the islands were officially under the authority of the French colony of New Caledonia.

In 1917, the three traditional kingdoms of Uvea, Sigave, and Alo were annexed by France, integrated into the colony of Wallis and Futuna, and remained under the authority of the colony of New Caledonia.^[9]

World War IIedit

During World War II, the islands' administration was briefly pro-Vichy, until a Free French corvette from New Caledonia deposed the regime, on 26 May 1942. Units of the US Marine Corps later landed on Wallis, on 29 May 1942.^[10]

Overseas territoryedit

In 1959, the inhabitants of the islands voted to become a separate French overseas territory, effective since 29 July 1961,^[4] thus ending their subordination to New Caledonia.^[11]

In 2005, the 50th king of Uvea, Tomasi Kulimoetoke II, faced being deposed after giving sanctuary to his grandson who was convicted of manslaughter. The king claimed his grandson should be judged by tribal law rather than by the French penal system. As a result, there were riots in the streets involving the king's supporters, who were victorious over attempts to replace the king. Two years later, Tomasi Kulimoetoke died on 7 May 2007. The state was in a six-month period of mourning, during which mentioning a successor was forbidden.^[12] On 25 July 2008, Kapiliele Faupala was installed as king despite protests from some of the royal clans. He was deposed in 2014. A new king, Patalione Kanimoa, was eventually installed in Uvea in 2016; Lino Leleivai in Alo on Futuna succeeded after Filipo Katoa had abdicated, and Eufenio Takala succeeded Polikalepo Kolivai in Sigave. The French president at the time, François Hollande, attended the installation ceremony.

Governance and lawedit

The territory is divided into three traditional kingdoms (royaumes coutumiers): Uvea, on the island of Wallis, Sigave, on the western part of the island of Futuna, and Alo, on the eastern part of the island of Futuna and on the uninhabited island of Alofi (only Uvea is further subdivided, into three districts):

Kingdom   District	Capital	Area (km2)	Population 2003 census	Population 2018 census	Population 2023 census	2003–2018 evolution	Villages[a]
Wallis Island
Uvea (Wallis)	Mata Utu	77.5	10,071	8,333	8,088	−17.3%	21
Hihifo ("west")	Vaitupu	23.4	2,422	1,942	1,855	−19.8%	5
Hahake ("east")	Mata Utu	27.8	3,950	3,415	3,343	−13.5%	6
Mu'a ("first")	Mala'efo'ou[b]	26.3	3,699	2,976	2,890	−19.5%	10
Futuna[c]
Sigave (Singave)	Leava	16.75	1,880	1,275	1,188	−32.2%	6
Alo	Mala'e	47.5	2,993	1,950	1,875	−34.8%	9
Total Futuna	Leava	64.25	4,873	3,225	3,063	−33.8%	15
Overall total	Mata Utu	142.42	14,944	11,558	11,151	−22.7%	36
^ Refers to villages with municipal status. ^ Formerly called Mua. ^ Alofi is virtually uninhabited; administratively it falls under Alo.

The capital of the collectivity is Mata Utu on the island of Uvéa, the most populous of the Wallis Islands. As an overseas collectivity of France, it is governed under the French constitution of 28 September 1958, and has universal suffrage for those over 18 years of age. The French president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; the high administrator is appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly. The most recent election was held on 20 March 2022.^[13]

As of 2023, the head of state is President Emmanuel Macron of France, as represented by Administrator-Superior Hervé Jonathan.^[14] The president of the Territorial Assembly has been Munipoese Muliʻakaʻaka since March 2022.^[15] The Council of the Territory consists of three kings (monarchs of the three pre-colonial kingdoms) and three members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the Territorial Assembly.

The legislative branch consists of the unicameral 20-member Territorial Assembly or Assemblée territoriale. Its members are elected by popular vote, and serve five-year terms. Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the French Senate and one deputy to the French National Assembly.

Criminal justice is generally governed by French law and administered by a tribunal of first resort in Mata Utu; appeals from that tribunal are decided by the Court of Appeal in Nouméa, New Caledonia. However, in non-criminal cases (civil-law disputes), the three traditional kingdoms administer justice according to customary law.

The territory participates in the Franc Zone, and is both a permanent member of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and an observer at the Pacific Islands Forum.

Geography and climateedit

Wallis and Futuna is located about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. It is 13°18′S 176°12′W / 13.300°S 176.200°W / -13.300; -176.200, 360 km (220 mi) west of Samoa and 480 km (300 mi) northeast of Fiji.

The territory includes the island of Uvéa (also called Wallis), which is the most populous; the island of Futuna; the virtually uninhabited island of Alofi; and 20 uninhabited islets. The total area of the territory is 274 km² (106 sq mi), with 129 km (80 mi) of coastline. The highest point in the territory is Mont Puke, on the island of Futuna, at 524 m (1,719 ft).

The islands have a hot, rainy season from November to April, when tropical cyclones passing over them cause storms. Then they have a cool, dry season from May to October, caused by the southeast trade winds that predominate during those months. The average annual rainfall is between 2,500 and 3,000 millimeters (98 and 118 inches), and rain is likely on at least 260 days per year. The average humidity is 80%. The average annual temperature is 26.6 °C (79.9 °F), rarely falling below 24.0 °C (75.2 °F); during the rainy season, it ranges between 28.0 and 32.0 °C (82.4 and 89.6 °F).

Only 5% of the islands' land area consists of arable land; permanent crops cover another 20%. Deforestation is a serious problem: Only small portions of the original forests remain, largely because the inhabitants use wood as their main fuel source, and, as a result, the mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly susceptible to erosion. The island of Alofi lacks natural freshwater resources, so it has no permanent settlements.

Volcanic activity during the mid-Pleistocene created numerous volcanic crater lakes on Uvea (Wallis Island). The names of some of them are: Lalolalo, Lano, Lanutavake, Lanutuli, Lanumaha, Kikila, and Alofivai.^[16]

Wallis and Futuna is part of the Fiji tropical moist forests terrestrial ecoregion.^[17]