(Redirected from Saint-Martin):Saint-Martin ''redirects here. For the island of Saint Martin on the whole, see
Saint Martin. For other uses, see
Saint Martin (disambiguation).''
'Saint Martin' (
French: ''Saint-Martin''), officially the 'Collectivity of Saint Martin' (French: ''Collectivité de Saint-Martin''), is an
overseas collectivity of
France that came into being on
February 22,
2007, encompassing the northern parts of the
island of Saint Martin and neighboring
islets. The southern part of the island,
Sint Maarten, is part of the
Netherlands Antilles.

Map showing the former constituent parts of the
Guadeloupe region/department among the
Leeward Islands, including Saint-Martin, prior to February 2007.
Politics and government
Saint Martin was for many years a French
commune forming part of
Guadeloupe, which is an
overseas ''région'' and
overseas ''département'' of France and is therefore in the
European Union. In 2003 the population of the French part voted in favour of secession from Guadeloupe in order to form 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 status took effect when the law was published in the
Official Journal on
February 22,
2007.
[3]

Map showing French Saint-Martin (north) and Dutch Sint Maarten (south)
Saint Martin remains part of the
European Union. The official currency in Saint Martin is the
euro (though the
U.S. dollar is also widely accepted).
The new governance structure befitting an overseas collectivity took effect on
July 15,
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.
Demographics
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.

Flags flying in Marigot harbor, Saint-Martin.
See also
★
Culture of St. Martin
★
History of St. Martin
★
Saint Martin, the island itself
★ ''
O sweet Saint-Martin's Land'' (bi-national song/anthem of Saint-Martin/Sint-Maarten)
★
List of Sint Maarten governors
References
1. French Caribbean voters reject change
2. Saint-Barth To Become An Overseas Collectivity
3. http://www.newmedia-fr.info/ixm_ixpnews.php?file=article&story_id=21579
See also
★