Saint Martin (
French: Saint-Martin), officially the Collectivity of Saint Martin (
French: Collectivité de Saint-Martin), is the northern half of the island of Saint Martin (which is split between the French Saint Martin on its northern half and the Dutch
Sint Maarten in its southern half) in the Caribbean and a French overseas collectivity. The capital and largest city of the territory is Marigot.
Saint Martin is part of The European Union, but not of the Schengen Area, and operates a separate visa policy compared to the EU. Since overseas travelers usually arrive at the airport on the Dutch side of the island (the smaller French airport only handles commercial flights to fellow French territories in the Caribbean, plus a couple of charter flights), holders of a visa for either Saint Martin or Sint Maarten are allowed entry to both. You will need separate currencies if you want to buy things from both regions, though, as Saint Martin is part of the Eurozone, while Sint Maarten is not. US dollars are also widely accepted in Saint Martin.
Originally a commune of Guadeloupe, the population voted in 2003 to secede from Guadeloupe and become a separate overseas collectivity of France, and on 9 February 2007, the French Parliament passed a bill granting overseas collectivity statuses to both Saint Martin and (separately) the neighbouring Saint Barthélemy. On the 15th of July, 2007, the new status took effect once the local assemblies were elected.
On the 6th and 7th of September, 2017, Hurricane Irma hit the island, destroying 95% of the building on the French side. France sent aid as well as additional police and emergency personnel to the island to deal with looters. On September 10th, France announced that it was sending additional emergency supplies, including water and electrical equipment to help restore the power supply to Saint Martin as an early step to helping the residents survive and rebuild, and on the 12th of September, the president of France, Emanuel Macron, arrived in Saint Martin with emergency supplies and said that by the weekend "many things will be reopened". He also pledged 50 million euros of aid for Saint Martin and said that the rebuilding will be done quickly, but very well. However, some controversy arose as only tourists and visitors from France had been evacuated from Saint Martin at the time, leading to complaints by black and mixed-race residents that whites were being given priority over them.
The Saint-Martinois flag
This unofficial flag of the territory consists of a white field with
the Collectivity's coat of arms
in the center. The French tricolour is the official flag of Saint-Martin as it's an overseas department of France.
The French national anthem
Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé!
Contre nous, de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé.
L'étendard sanglant est levé.
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras
Égorger vos fils et vos compagnes!
Aux armes, citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons!
Marchons, marchons,
Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons!
—
Let us go, children of the motherland,
The day of glory has come!
Against us, the tyranny's
bloody flag has been raised.
Bloody flag has been raised.
Can you hear in the countryside,
These ferocious soldiers bellowing?
They come all the way into your arms
To arms, citizens!
Form your batallions!
Let us march, let us march,
The Saint-Martinois territorial anthem
Trouvez-moi une perle si chère,
comme l'île Saint-Martin en mer,
chaîne de mornes et vallées;
riche de plages bien dorées
qui donnent la paix, donnent le repos
dans ses mornes et toutes ses eaux.
Saint-Martin, Saint-Martin,
Si jolie en tous ses coins.
Saint-Martin, Saint-Martin,
Si jolie en tous ses coins.
Quel charme ses flamboyants,
leur fleurs un enchantement,
tout un bouquet de flammes vives.
Quand le soleil ici arrive,
donnant splendeur, montrant beauté,
Quel éclat de tous cotés.
Saint-Martin, Saint-Martin,
Si jolie en tous ses coins.
Saint-Martin, Saint-Martin,
Si jolie en tous ses coins.
Sa cime "le Pic Paradis",
ravit les touristes ici,
d'où sa verdure fait merveille;
un panorama sans pareil,
voyant les plaines, voyant la mer,
colorées en bleu et vert.
Le vol de ses pélicans,
gracieux et si élégants
quand ils plannent haut en l'air,
quand ils plongent dans la mer;
Dites-moi l'endroit, où on les voit,
lorsqu'ils fondent sur leur proies
Saint-Martin, Saint-Martin,
Si jolie en tous ses coins.
Saint-Martin, Saint-Martin,
Si jolie en tous ses coins.
Son nom toujours Saint-Martin
rest'ra dans l'histoire sans fin,
Christophe Colomb l'a découverte,
lui a donné son nom si cher,
Dieu protecteur, Dieu de bonté,
garde-la bien en prospérité !
Saint-Martin, Saint-Martin,
Si jolie en tous ses coins.
Saint-Martin, Saint-Martin,
Si jolie en tous ses coins.
—
Find me a pearl so dear,
as the island of St. Martin in the sea,
chain of hills and valleys;
rich golden brown beaches
giving peace, give the rest
in its bleak and all its waters.
St. Martin, St. Martin,
So pretty in all its corners.
St. Martin, St. Martin,
So pretty in all its corners.
What his flamboyant charm,
their enchanting flowers,
a whole bunch of flames.
When the sun comes here,
giving splendor, showing beauty,
What splendor on all sides.
St. Martin, St. Martin,
So pretty in all its corners.
St. Martin, St. Martin,
So pretty in all its corners.
Its top "Pic Paradis",
delights tourists here,
hence its green works wonders;
an unparalleled panorama,
Seeing the plains, seeing the sea,
St. Martin, St. Martin,
So pretty in all its corners.
St. Martin, St. Martin,
So pretty in all its corners.
Flight of its pelicans,
graceful and elegant
when they hover high into the air,
when they dive into the sea;
Tell me the place where we see them,
St. Martin, St. Martin,
So pretty in all its corners.
St. Martin, St. Martin,
So pretty in all its corners.
His name always St. Martin
Will in the never ending story,
Christopher Columbus discovered it,
gave it its name so dear,
Patron god, God of goodness,
guard it well in prosperity!
St. Martin, St. Martin,
So pretty in all its corners.
St. Martin, St. Martin,
So pretty in all its corners.
Government
- Devolved parliamentary dependency
- President: Emmanuel Macron
- Prefect: Serge Gouteyron
- President of the Territorial Council: Louis Mussington
Miscellaneous
- Capital and largest city: Marigot
- Population: 34,065
- Area: 53.2 sq km (20.5 sq mi)
- Currency: Euro (€) (EUR)
- ISO-3166-1 code: MF
- Country calling code: 590
