Collectivity of Saint Martin Collectivité de Saint-Martin
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: La Marseillaise National song: O Sweet Saint Martin's Land
Location of the Collectivity of St Martin in the Leeward Islands.
Capital and largest city		Marigot
Official languages		French
Ethnic groups ([1])		Mulatto West African Mestizoa European East Indian
Government		Dependent territory
-	President of France	François Hollande
-	Prefect	Jacques Simonnet
-	President of the Territorial Council	Alain Richardson (RRR)
Overseas collectivity of France
-	Divided between France and Netherlands	23 March 1648
-	Separate collectivity	15 July 2007
Area
-	Total	54.3 km2 (unranked) 21.0 sq mi
-	Water (%)	negligible
Population
-	Jan 1, 2009 census	36,824[2]
-	Density	678/km2 (unranked) 1,755/sq mi
Currency		Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone		(UTC-4)
Calling code		+590c
ISO 3166 code		MF
Internet TLD		.mf b .fr .gp
a.	French East Asians.
b.	Assigned but not in use.
c.	Shared with Guadeloupe and Saint Barthélemy.

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,^{[note 1]} encompassing the northern parts of Saint Martin island and neighbouring islets, the largest of which is Île Tintamarre. The southern part of the island, Sint Maarten, is one of the four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

It is separated from the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla by the Anguilla Channel.

Politics and government [edit]

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.^[3] On 9 February 2007, the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both the French part of Saint Martin and (separately) the neighbouring Saint Barthélemy.^[4] The new status took effect once the local assembly was elected on 15 February 2007.^[5] Saint Martin remains part of the European Union.^[6]

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.^[7] On 7 August, Frantz Gumbs was elected as President of the Territorial Council.^[8] 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.^[9] Gumbs was reelected on 5 May 2009.^[10]

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).^[11]

Coat of arms [edit]

The coat of arms of the French overseas collectivity Saint-Martin features a ship, a palm and a sun, and reads "Collectivité de Saint Martin".^[12] The comune that existed until February 22, 2007, used similar arms but with the legend "Ville de Saint Martin".^[13][14]

Demographics [edit]

The French part of the island has a land area of 54.3 square kilometres (21.0 sq mi). A local English-based dialect is spoken in informal situations on both the French and Dutch sides of the island.^[15] At the January 2009 French census, the population in the French part of the island was 36,824^[2] (up from only 8,072 inhabitants at the 1982 census), which means a population density of 678 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,760 /sq mi) in 2009.

Economy [edit]

Flags flying in Marigot harbour, Saint-Martin.

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).^[16] 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.^[16] In comparison, the GDP per capita on the Dutch side of the island, Sint Maarten, was 14,430 euros in 2004.^[17]

Maps [edit]

Map showing the former constituent parts of the Guadeloupe region/department among the Leeward Islands, including Saint-Martin, before February 2007.

Detailed map showing French Saint-Martin (north), including its territorial waters.

Map showing French Saint-Martin (north) and Dutch Sint Maarten (south).

Notes [edit]

See also [edit]

	Guadeloupe portal
	Caribbean portal
	North America portal
	Geography portal

• Caribbean
  • Leeward Islands
    • Saint Martin
      • Collectivity of Saint Martin
        • France
          • Overseas departments and territories of France
            • Région Guadeloupe et Saint Martin (Scouting)
      • Sint Maarten
        • Kingdom of the Netherlands
          • Caribbean Netherlands
        • List of Sint Maarten governors
        • Princess Juliana International Airport
        • Maho Beach, famous viewing area for airport takeoffs and landings.
    • Culture of St. Martin
      • O sweet Saint-Martin's Land (bi-national song/anthem of Saint-Martin/Sint-Maarten)
    • History of St. Martin
• List of divided islands

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Find more about Saint Martin (France) at Wikipedia's sister projects
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Travel information from Wikivoyage

• (French) Official website of the Collectivity of Saint Martin
• Official website of the Tourist Office of Saint Martin
• Wikimedia Atlas of Saint Martin (France)
• Saint Martin (France) travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Saint Martin entry at The World Factbook

v t e Countries and dependencies of North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Colombia San Andrés and Providencia Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador France Guadeloupe Martinique Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Iceland Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Netherlands Bonaire Saba Sint Eustatius Panama St. Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Venezuela Isla Aves Dependencies Denmark Greenland France Clipperton Island St. Barthélemy St. Martin St. Pierre and Miquelon Netherlands Aruba Curaçao Sint Maarten United Kingdom Anguilla Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Montserrat Turks and Caicos Islands United States Navassa Island Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands

v t e Overseas departments and territories of France   Inhabited areas Overseas departments1 French Guiana Guadeloupe Martinique Réunion Mayotte2 Overseas collectivities French Polynesia St. Barthélemy St. Martin St. Pierre and Miquelon Wallis and Futuna Special status New Caledonia   Uninhabited areas Pacific Ocean Clipperton Island French Southern and Antarctic Lands Île Amsterdam Île Saint-Paul Crozet Islands Kerguelen Islands Adélie Land Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean Banc du Geyser2, 3 Bassas da India4 Europa Island4 Glorioso Islands3, 4 Juan de Nova Island3 Tromelin Island5 1 Also known as overseas regions 2 Claimed by Comoros 3 Claimed by Madagascar 4 Claimed by Seychelles 5 Claimed by Mauritius

v t e Dependencies of European Union states Denmark Faroe Islands Greenland France Clipperton Island French Polynesia French Southern and Antarctic Lands Adélie Land Île Amsterdam Crozet Islands Îles Éparses Kerguelen Islands Île Saint-Paul New Caledonia Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Wallis and Futuna Netherlands Aruba Curaçao Sint Maarten United Kingdom Crown dependencies Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Sovereign Base Areas Akrotiri and Dhekelia Overseas territories Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands

Coordinates: 18°4′31″N 63°3′36″W / 18.07528°N 63.06000°W / 18.07528; -63.06000