Papeete

Papeete is the capital of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean, on the island of Tahiti within the Windward Islands, with 26,654 residents in the commune proper and an urban area of 124,274 as of the 2022 census. Its name means "water from a basket," a name adopted during a historical taboo on the site's original name. German warships shelled Papeete in 1914 during the First World War, causing loss of life and damage, and the city grew substantially after France moved its nuclear weapons testing program to nearby atolls in the 1960s, which brought major infrastructure investment including the international airport. Papeete remains the center of French Polynesia's government, commerce, industry and finance and the hub of its tourism.