|
Collectivity of Saint Martin
Collectivité de
Saint-Martin
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
| Anthem: La
Marseillaise |
||||||
 |
||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Marigot | |||||
| Official languages | French | |||||
| Ethnic groups | Mulatto, West African, Mestizo (French-East Asia), European, East Indian[1] | |||||
| Government | ||||||
| - | President of France | Nicolas Sarkozy | ||||
| - | Prefect | Dominique Lacroix | ||||
| - | President of the Territorial Council | Frantz Gumbs | ||||
| Overseas Collectivity | of France | |||||
| - | Island divided between France and the Netherlands | 23 March 1648 | ||||
| - | as separate Overseas Collectivity | 15 July 2007 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 53.2 km2 (
not ranked) 20.5 sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | negligible | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 1 Jan. 2006 census | 35,263[2] | ||||
| - | Density | 663/km2 (not ranked) 1,612/sq mi |
||||
| HDI (2003) | n/a (unranked) (n/a) | |||||
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
|||||
| Time zone | (UTC-4) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | (UTC-3) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .mf assigned but not in use, .fr and .gp in use | |||||
Saint Martin (French: Saint-Martin), officially the Collectivity of Saint Martin (French: Collectivité de Saint-Martin) is an overseas collectivity of France located in the Caribbean. It came into being on 15 July 2007[3], encompassing the northern parts of the island of Saint Martin and neighbouring islets, the largest of which is Île Tintamarre. The southern part of the island, Sint Maarten, is part of the Netherlands Antilles which is part of the Netherlands.
Contents |
Saint Martin was for many years a French commune forming part of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas région and département of France and is therefore in the European Union. In 2003 the population of the French part of the island voted in favour of secession from Guadeloupe in order to form a separate overseas collectivity (COM) of France.[4] On 9 February 2007, the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both the French part of Saint Martin and neighbouring Saint Barthélemy.[5] The new status took effect once the local assembly was elected on 15 February 2007.[6] Saint Martin remains part of the European Union.[7]
The new governance structure befitting an overseas collectivity took effect on 15 July 2007 with the first session of the Territorial Council (French: Conseil territorial) and the election of Louis-Constant Fleming as president of the Territorial Council. On 25 July 2008 Fleming resigned after being sanctioned by the Conseil d'État for one year over problems with his 2007 election campaign[8]. On 7 August, Frantz Gumbs was elected as President of the Territorial Council[9]. However, his election was declared invalid on 10 April 2009 and Daniel Gibbs appointed as Acting President of the Territorial Council on 14 April 2009.[10] However, Gumbs was reelected on 5 May 2009.[11]
Before 2007, Saint Martin was coded as GP (Guadeloupe) in ISO 3166-1. In October 2007, it received the ISO 3166-1 code MF (alpha-2 code), MAF (alpha-3 code), and 663 (numeric code).[12]
| Parties | 1st round | 2nd round | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
| Union for Progress/UMP (Union pour le Progrès, Louis Constant-Fleming) | 2,829 | 40.35 | 3,753 | 48.96 | 16 | ||
| Rally Responsibility Success (Rassemblement responsabilité réussite, Alain Richardson) | 2,237 | 31.90 | 3,231 | 42.15 | 6 | ||
| Succeed Saint Martin (Réussir Saint-Martin, Jean-Luc Hamlet) | 767 | 10.94 | 681 | 8.89 | 1 | ||
| Alliance (Alliance, Dominique Riboud) | 635 | 9.05 | — | — | — | ||
| Democratic Alliance for Saint Martin (Alliance démocratique pour Saint-Martin, Wendel Cocks) | 544 | 7.76 | — | — | — | ||
| Total | 7,012 | 100.00 | 7,665 | 100.00 | 23 | ||
| Source: RFO1, RFO2 | |||||||
|
||||||||||||||
The French part of the island has a land area of 53.20 km² (20.5 sq mi). At the January 2006 French census, the population in the French part of the island was 35,263 (up from only 8,072 inhabitants at the 1982 census), which means a population density of 663 inhabitants per km² in 2006.
| 1885 | 1961 | 1967 | 1974 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,400 | 4,502 | 5,061 | 6,191 | 8,072 | 28,518 | 29,078 | 35,263 |
| Official figures from French censuses. | |||||||
The official currency of Saint Martin is the euro, though the US dollar is also widely accepted. Tourism is the main economic activity.
INSEE estimated that the total GDP of Saint Martin amounted to 421 million euros in 1999 (US$449 million at 1999 exchanges rates; US$599 million at Oct. 2007 exchange rates).[13] In that same year the GDP per capita of Saint Martin was 14,500 euros (US$15,500 at 1999 exchanges rates; US$20,600 at Oct. 2007 exchange rates), which was 39% lower than the average GDP per capita of metropolitan France in 1999.[13] In comparison, the GDP per capita on the Dutch side of the island, Sint Maarten, was 14,430 euros in 2004.[14]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saint Martin (French: Saint-Martin), officially the Collectivity of Saint Martin (French: Collectivité de Saint-Martin), is a new overseas collectivity of France. It was created on 22 February 2007. It consists of the northern parts of the island of Saint Martin and neighboring small islands. The southern half of the island is part of the Netherlands Antilles.
The French part of the island has a land area of 53.20 km² (20.5 sq mi). At the October 2004 supplementary French census, the population in the French part of the island was 33,102 (up from only 8,072 inhabitants at the 1982 census), which means a population density of 622 inhabitants per km² in 2004.
| 1885 | 1961 | 1967 | 1974 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,400 | 4,502 | 5,061 | 6,191 | 8,072 | 28,518 | 29,078 | 33,102 |
| Official figures from French censuses. | |||||||
[[File:|thumb|left|150px|Map showing the former constituent parts of the Guadeloupe region/department among the Leeward Islands, including Saint-Martin, prior to February 2007.]]
Saint Martin was for many years a French commune. It was part of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas région and overseas département of France. Because of this, it is in the European Union. In 2003 the population of the French part voted for a split from Guadeloupe. They wanted to make a separate overseas collectivity (COM) of France. [1] On February 9, 2007, the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both the french part of Saint Martin and neighbouring Saint-Barthélemy. [2] The new took effect when the law was published in the Official Journal.[3]
Saint Martin remains part of the European Union.[needs proof] The official currency in Saint Martin is the euro (though the United States dollar is also widely accepted).
As a transitional measure, Saint Martin remains governed as it was when a commune within Guadeloupe—by a mayor and a municipal council elected by the European citizens living on the French side of the island. As is the case in metropolitan France since the promulgation of the Maastricht Treaty, nationals of any member state of the European Union are allowed to vote at the municipal elections. Nationals from countries not part of the European Union, which represent a large part of the population on the French side of the island, are not allowed to vote in the elections. A new governance structure befitting an overseas collectivity will take effect later in 2007.
   | French Caribbean voters reject change - Caribbean Net News: French Caribbean voters reject change |
| | Estimation du PIB de Saint-Barthélemy et de Saint-Martin - Insee Guyane - Les publications de l'Insee en Guyane |
|
|
Top topics
Wikis
Map
Search
