The
Collectivity of Saint Martin was a French
commune for many years and formed part of
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...
, 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. 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. The new status took effect once the local assembly was elected on 15 February 2007.
Saint Martin remains part of the
European Union.
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. On 7 August,
Frantz Gumbs Frantz Gumbs (born 21 January 1954) is a French Saint Martinois politician from La République En Marche! and Saint-Martinois Rally. He is Member of Parliament for Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin's 1st constituency after defeating Republican ...
was elected as President of the Territorial Council. 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. However, Gumbs was reelected on 5 May 2009.
There currently exists a movement in Saint Martin
for achieving a political unification of the island.
References
{{SaintMartin-stub