July 14 in Rikitea

Date: July 14, 2026

Since we were still in Gambiers on July 14th we joined the Bastille Day celebrations in Rikitea. It started with a parade from a little square to the city hall (la mairie).

Here everyone is lining up to depart for la mairie:

Miss and Mister Mangareva 2026 had their own chariot, a truck decorated with sand, shells and palm leaves, in accordance with the ocean theme of the Puraganui 2026:

Mister Mangareva 2026 is holding the Gambier flag.

This pickup truck with chain saws and other serious gardening tools was also part of the parade and next to it stands the proud maintenance guy:

This little electrical tuktuk was ready to transport some of the older ladies:

At la mairie the parade stopped for a flag ceremony where first the French flag, then the Polynesian and finally the Gambier flag were raised to each their tune — La Marseillaise first, then the Polynesian anthem and finally the Gambier anthem.

While this was going on, marines from the French navy, who were visiting Rikitea from the frigate Prairial, were standing to attention. The frigate was anchored off Rikitea for several days before July 14th, apparently with the sole purpose of participating in the celebrations.

Once all three flag had been raised there was a military medal ceremony:

Finally, the Captain of the Prairial, Wallerand Faivre d'Arcier, and the mayor of Commune de Gambier Vai Vanielo Gooding held speeches:

Then it was time to start up the parade again to move everyone to the sports hall for the continuation of the festivities.

Most women were nicely dressed up for the day with very colorful dresses and crowns:

The truck of Miss and Mister Mangareva on its way:

Here are some of the dancers already dressed up for their dance:

The two ladies in the front were in the organizing committee of the Puraganui:

The navy people also joined the parade but in a rather relaxed fashion:

Most of them at least:

The guy who got the medal was invited to ride with another set of Miss and Mister Mangareva. Notice the hand sign he is making. It's the so-called Shaka sign, known best from Hawaii but used extensively in French Polynesia as well. It is used as a symbol for friendship, gratitude and positivity.

Finally, we arrived at the sports hall where the girl's dance troupe started the show:

At the end of their show, each girl would pick out someone in the audience to dance with them. In this case a number of the marines were chosen to show their talents:

Note the long table in front of the dancers. It is covered with a selection of canapes that everyone was invited to eat after the dancing was over.

The adult dancers starting their show while the kids have started eating the canapes in the foreground: