Explain the problem

pandoc can parse “transitional” Open XML .docx files but not “strict” Open XML.

Reproduce

Example files:

• Transitional OOXML .docx: Transitional.docx
• Strict OOXML .docx: Strict.docx

Commands to convert attached files:

pandoc -o transitional.tex transitional.docx
pandoc -o strict.tex strict.docx

Behavior:

• Conversion of transitional.docx succeeds
• Conversion of strict.docx returns “couldn't parse docx file: DocxError”

Pandoc version?

pandoc: 2.16.1
Windows: 11 Home version 21H2 build 22000.318

Related issues

Possibly #5277, but I do not understand the discussion there