Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial

overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

.Saint Pierre and Miquelon
''

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is availabl ...

''.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

. Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a remaining vestige of the once-vast territory of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

. Its residents are French citizens; the collectivity elects its own deputy to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

and participates in senatorial and presidential elections. It covers of land and had a population of 6,008 . The islands are in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near the entrance of

Fortune Bay Fortune Bay () is a fairly large natural bay located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada.Newfoundland, near the

Grand Banks of Newfoundland The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

. St. Pierre is from Point May on the

Burin Peninsula The Burin Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula located on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Marystown is the largest population centre on the peninsula.Statistics Canada. 2017. Marystown, T ensu ...

of Newfoundland and from

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

, the nearest city in

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

. The tiny Canadian Green Island lies east of St. Pierre, roughly halfway to Point May.

Etymology

is French for

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of fishermen. The present name of was first noted in the form of ''Micquetô'', ''Miqueton'' or ''Micquellon'' in the French Basque sailor Martin de Hoyarçabal's 1579 navigational pilot for Newfoundland, '' Les voyages aventureux du Capitaine Martin de Hoyarsabal, habitant du çubiburu'': "Giſant le cap de Breton & le pertuis de Miqueton est oest, y a 42 l. eagues ... "Gisant la Colombe de S. Pierre le pertuis de Micquellon nord noroest & sud suest: y a 7 l. It has been claimed that the name ''Miquelon'' is a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

form of Michael; ''Mikel'' and ''Mikels'' are usually named ''Mikelon'' in the Basque Country. Therefore, from ''Mikelon'' it may have been written in the French way with a ''q'' instead of a ''k''. The Basque Country is divided between Spain and France, and most Basques live south of the border, so Miquelon may have been influenced by the Spanish name , an augmentative form of Miguel meaning "big Michael". The adjoined island's name of " Langlade" is said to be an adaptation of (Englishman's Island).

History

Archaeological evidence indicates that indigenous peoples, such as the

Beothuk The Beothuk ( or ; also spelled Beothuck) were a group of indigenous people who lived on the island of Newfoundland. Beginning around AD 1500, the Beothuk culture formed. This appeared to be the most recent cultural manifestation of peoples w ...

, visited St Pierre and Miquelon, but it is not thought that they settled on the islands permanently. On 21 October 1520 the Portuguese explorer

João Álvares Fagundes João Álvares Fagundes (born c. 1460, Kingdom of Portugal – died 1522, Kingdom of Portugal) was an explorer and ship owner from Viana do Castelo in Northern Portugal. He organized several expeditions to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia around 152 ...

landed on the islands and named the St. Pierre island group the ' Eleven Thousand Virgins', as the day marked the feast day of St. Ursula and her virgin companions. In 1536 Jacques Cartier claimed the islands as a French possession on behalf of the King of France, Francis I. Though already frequented by Mi'kmaq people By Robert Aldrich, John Connell and by Basque and Breton fishermen, the islands were not permanently settled until the end of the 17th century: four permanent inhabitants were counted in 1670, and 22 in 1691. In 1670, during Jean Talon's second tenure as

Intendant of New France The Intendant of New France was an administrative position in the French colony of New France. He controlled the colony's entire civil administration. He gave particular attention to settlement and economic development, and to the administration of ...

, a French officer annexed the islands after he discovered a dozen fishermen from France encamped there, naming them Saint Pierre and Miquelon. During

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

and

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

forces launched multiple attacks against French colonial settlements on the islands, and by the early 18th century the colonists had abandoned Saint Pierre and Miquelon altogether. In the 1713

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne ...

which ended the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

, France ceded the islands to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. The British renamed the island of Saint Pierre to Saint Peter, and small numbers of colonists from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and Britain's American colonies began to settle on the islands. Under the terms of the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which put an end to the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

, France ceded all its North American possessions to Britain, though the British granted fishing rights to French fishermen along the Newfoundland coast, and as part of that arrangement returned Saint Pierre and Miquelon to France's control. By Benoit Prieur After France entered the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

on the side of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and declared war on Britain, a British force invaded Saint Pierre and Miquelon and briefly occupied them, destroying all colonial settlements on the islands and deporting 2,000 colonists back to France. In 1793, during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

, another British force landed in Saint Pierre and, in the following year, again deporting the French colonial population, and tried to establish a community of Anglophone settlers. The nascent British colony was in turn attacked by the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

in 1796. The

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it s ...

of 1802 returned the islands to France, but Britain reoccupied them when hostilities recommenced the next year. The 1814

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

gave the islands back to France, though the UK occupied them yet again during the Hundred Days War in 1815. France then reclaimed the now uninhabited islands, in which all structures and buildings had been destroyed or fallen into disrepair. The islands were resettled in 1816. The settlers, mostly Basques, Bretons and

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

, were joined by various other peoples, particularly from the nearby island of Newfoundland. Only around the middle of the century did increased fishing bring a certain prosperity to the little colony.

20th century

In 1903 the colony toyed with the idea of joining the United States, but in the end nothing came of the idea.Willing to Be Annexed: St. Pierre and Miquelon Would Like to Join United States
. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. 23 November 1903. p. 6. During the early 1910s the colony suffered severely as a result of unprofitable fisheries, and large numbers of its people emigrated to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. The draft imposed on all male inhabitants of conscript age after the 1914 beginning of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

crippled the fisheries, as their catch could not be processed by the older men or the women and children. About 400 men from the colony served in the

French military The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...

during World War I (1914–1918), 25% of whom died. The increase in the adoption of steam trawlers in the fisheries also contributed to the reduction in employment opportunities. Smuggling had always been an important economic activity in the islands, but it became especially prominent in the 1920s with the institution of Prohibition in the United States from January 1920. By Mark Bourrie In 1931 the archipelago was reported by the ''New York Times'' to have imported of whisky from Canada in 12 months, most of it to be smuggled into the United States. The end of Prohibition in 1933 plunged the islands once more into economic depression. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, despite opposition from Canada, Britain, and the United States, Charles de Gaulle's forces seized the archipelago from

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...

, to which the local government had pledged its allegiance. In a referendum on 26 December 1941, the population endorsed the takeover by

Free France Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

by a vote of 63 for Free France (98.2% of ballots cast) with three ballots voided. By Fitzroy André Baptiste The colony became a

French Overseas Territory Overseas France (french: France d'outre-mer) consists of 13 French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after decoloni ...

in 1946. After the

1958 French constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in France on 28 September 1958.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p674 Voters were asked whether they approved of the adoption of a constitution for the French Fift ...

, the territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon was asked to choose one of three options: becoming fully integrated with France, becoming a self-governing state within the French Community, or preserving the status of an overseas territory; it decided to remain a territory.

Politics

Since March 2003, Saint Pierre and Miquelon has been an overseas collectivity with a special status. The archipelago became an overseas territory in 1946, then an overseas department on 19 July 1976, before acquiring the status of

territorial collectivity A territorial collectivity (french: collectivité territoriale, previously '), or territorial authority, is a chartered subdivision of France with recognized governing authority. It is the generic name for any subdivision (subnational entity) wi ...

on 11 June 1985. The archipelago has two

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

: Saint-Pierre and Miquelon-Langlade. A third commune, Isle-aux-Marins, existed until 1945, when it was absorbed by the municipality of Saint-Pierre. The inhabitants possess

French citizenship French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ( ...

and suffrage. Saint Pierre and Miquelon sends a senator and a deputy to the National Assembly of France in Paris and enjoys a degree of autonomy concerning taxes, customs, and excise. By Bill Marshall France appoints the Prefect of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, who represents the national government in the territory. The Prefect is in charge of national interests, law enforcement, public order, and, under the conditions set by the statute of 1985, administrative control. Since January 2021, the current prefect is Christian Pouget. The local legislative body, the Territorial Council (french: link=no, Conseil territorial), has 19 members: four councillors from Miquelon-Langlade and 15 from Saint-Pierre. The President of the Territorial Council is the head of a delegation of "France in the name of Saint Pierre and Miquelon" for international events such as the annual meetings of NAFO and

ICCAT / es, Comisión Internacional para la Conservación del Atún Atlántico (CICAA) , motto = , formation = , type = tuna regional fishery management organisation , status = , purpose = Fisheries manag ...

. France is responsible for the defence of the islands. The

has maintained a patrol boat, the ex-trawler , in the region since 1997. Law enforcement in Saint Pierre and Miquelon is the responsibility of a branch of the French Gendarmerie Nationale; there are two police stations in the archipelago. On 10 January 2022 Saint Pierre and Miquelon made international news when MP Stéphane Claireaux, a member of the governing La République en Marche (LREM) was pelted with seaweed and stones in response to the government's new COVID-19 rules. The rule was announced by the state representative, the prefect, on 2 January for the island and angered residents.

Maritime boundary case

France claimed a exclusive economic zone for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and in August 1983 the naval ship '' Lieutenant de vaisseau Le Hénaff'' and the seismic ship ''Lucien Beaufort'' were sent to explore for oil in the disputed zone. In addition to the potential oil reserves, cod fishing rights on the

were at stake in the dispute. In the late 1980s, indications of declining fish stocks began to raise serious concern over the depletion of the fishery. By Steven Kendall Holloway In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the islands an exclusive economic zone of to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents only 25% of what France had sought. The 1992 decision fixed the maritime boundaries between Canada and the islands, but did not demarcate the continental shelf.

Geography

Located off the western end of the Newfoundland's

, the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon comprises eight islands, totalling , of which only two are inhabited. The islands are bare and rocky, with steep coasts, and only a thin layer of peat to soften the hard landscape. The islands are geologically part of the northeastern end of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

along with Newfoundland. , whose area is smaller, , is the most populous and the commercial and administrative center of the archipelago.

Saint-Pierre Airport Saint-Pierre Airport (french: Aéroport de Saint-Pierre) is a regional airport located south of Saint-Pierre, in the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, off the east coast of Canada near Newfoundland. Overview The ...

has been in operation since 1999 and is capable of accommodating long-haul flights from France. , the largest island, is in fact composed of two islands;

Miquelon Island Miquelon (french: Île Miquelon) also known as ', is one of the islands of the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, an Overseas collectivity of France located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the Atlantic Ocean, south of the coast of Newfou ...

(also called , ) is connected to Langlade Island (, ) by the ' (also known as the ), a long sandy

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. A tombolo, from the Italian ', meaning 'pillow' or 'cushion', and sometimes translated incorrectly as ''ayre'' (an ayre is a shingle beach of any kind), is a deposition landform by which an island becom ...

. A storm had severed them in the 18th century, separating the two islands for several decades, before currents reconstructed the isthmus. , the tallest point in the territory at 240 meters high, is located on Grande Miquelon. The waters between Langlade and Saint-Pierre were called "the Mouth of Hell" (french: link=no, Gueule d'Enfer) until about 1900, as more than 600 shipwrecks have been recorded in that point since 1800. In the north of Miquelon Island is the village of Miquelon-Langlade (710 inhabitants), while Langlade Island was almost deserted (only one inhabitant in the 1999 census). A third, formerly inhabited island, , known as until 1931 and located a short distance from the port of Saint-Pierre, has been uninhabited since 1963. The other main islands are , , and . File:Saint-Pierre and Miquelon 3D.png, 3D image of the Saint Pierre and Miquelon archipelago File:Sainte-Pierre aerial.jpg, ''Saint-Pierre'' aerial photo, 2013.

is at the lower right. File:StPierre003.JPG, Aerial view of St Pierre, the capital and largest town

Environment

Seabirds Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envi ...

are the most common fauna. Seals and other wildlife can be found in the Grand Barachois Lagoon of Miquelon. Every spring, whales migrating to

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

are visible off the coasts of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

Trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the ...

fossils have been found on Langlade. The stone pillars off the island coasts called "L'anse aux Soldats" eroded away and disappeared in the 1970s. The rocky islands are barren, except for scrubby yews and junipers and thin volcanic soil. The forest cover of the hills, except in parts of Langlade, had been removed for fuel long ago.

Climate

In spite of being located at a similar latitude to the Bay of Biscay, the archipelago is characterized by a cold borderline

humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

/ subarctic climate, under the influence of polar air masses and the cold

Labrador Current The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Canada near Nova Scotia. Near Nova Scot ...

. The mild winters for being a subarctic climate also means it has influences of

subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

, thus being at the confluence of three climatic types. The February mean is just below the isotherm for that classification. Due to just three months being above 10 °C (50 °F) in mean temperatures and winter lows being so mild, Saint Pierre and Miquelon has a

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

of ''Dfc'', if bordering on ''Cfc'' due to the mildness of the winter and either ''Dfb'' or ''Cfb'' due to the closeness of the fourth-and fifth-warmest months to having mean temperatures at or above 10 °C (50 °F). Typical maritime

seasonal lag Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum insolation (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the minim ...

is also strong with September being warmer than June and March being colder than December. The average temperature is , with a temperature range of between the warmest ( in August) and coldest months ( in February).

Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

is abundant ( per year) and regular (146 days per year), falling as snow and rain. Because of its location at the confluence of the cold waters of the Labrador Current and the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, the archipelago is also crossed a hundred days a year by fog banks, mainly in June and July. Two other climatic elements are remarkable: the extremely variable winds and haze during the spring to early summer.

Economy

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Product Exports (2019)

The inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by servicing the fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The climate and the small amount of available land militate against activities such as farming and livestock raising (weather conditions are severe, confining the growing season to a few weeks, and the soil contains significant

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

and

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

and is largely infertile).Economie – L'Outre-Mer
Since 1992 the economy has been in steep decline, following the depletion of fish stocks due to overfishing, the limitation of fishing areas and the ban imposed on all cod fishing by the Canadian Government. The rise in unemployment has been countered by state financial aid for the retraining of businesses and individuals. The construction of the airport in 1999 helped sustain activity in the construction industry and public works. Fish farming, crab fishing and agriculture are being developed to diversify the local economy. The future of Saint Pierre and Miquelon rests on tourism, fisheries and aquaculture. Explorations are under way to exploit deposits of oil and gas. Tourism benefits from the proximity to similar tourist areas of Canada. Distribution, public service, care, minor wholesale, retail and crafts are notable in the

business sector In economics, the business sector or corporate sector - sometimes popularly called simply "business" - is "the part of the economy made up by companies". It is a subset of the domestic economy, excluding the economic activities of general gov ...

. The labour market is characterized by high

seasonality In time series data, seasonality is the presence of variations that occur at specific regular intervals less than a year, such as weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Seasonality may be caused by various factors, such as weather, vacation, and holidays a ...

, due to climatic hazards. Traditionally, the inhabitants suspended all outdoor activities (construction, agriculture, etc.) between December and April. In 1999 the unemployment rate was 12.8%, and a third of the employed worked in the public sector. The employment situation was worsened by the complete cessation of deep-sea fishing, the traditional occupation of the islanders, as the unemployment rate in 1990 was lower at 9.5%. The unemployment for 2010 shows a decrease from 2009, from 7.7% to 7.1%. Exports are very low (5.1% of GDP) while imports are significant (49.1% of GDP). About 70% of the islands' supplies are imported from Canada or from other parts of France via Nova Scotia. The

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

is the currency in Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The Canadian dollar is also widely accepted and used. By Tim Jepson, Phil Lee, Tania Smith, Emma Rose Rees, Christian Williams The "Institut d'émission des départements d'outre-mer" (IEDOM), the French public institution responsible for issuing currency in the overseas territories that use the euro on behalf of the Bank of France, has had an agency in Saint Pierre since 1978. The islands have issued their own stamps from 1885 to the present, except for a period between 1 April 1978 and 3 February 1986 when French stamps not specific to Saint Pierre and Miquelon were used.

Demographics

The total population of the islands at the March 2016 census was 6,008, of which 5,412 lived in Saint-Pierre and 596 in Miquelon-Langlade. At the time of the 1999 census, 76% of the population was born on the archipelago, while 16.1% were born in metropolitan France, a sharp increase from the 10.2% in 1990. In the same census, less than 1% of the population reported being a foreign national. The archipelago has a high emigration rate, especially among young adults, who often leave for their studies without returning afterwards. Even at the time of the great prosperity of the cod fishery, the population growth had always been constrained by the geographic remoteness, harsh climate and infertile soils.

Ethnography

Ruins show that Indigenous American people visited the archipelago on fishing and hunting expeditions before it was colonized by Europeans. The current population is the result of inflows of settlers from the French ports, mostly

, Basques,

Bretons The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mo ...

and Saintongeais, and also from the historic area of

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17t ...

in Canada ( Gaspé Peninsula, parts of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Prince Edward Island and

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

) as well as

Francophones French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the la ...

who settled on the Port au Port Peninsula on Newfoundland.

Languages

The inhabitants speak French; their customs and traditions are similar to the ones found in metropolitan France. The French spoken on the archipelago is closer to Metropolitan French than to Canadian French and maintains a number of unique features. Basque, formerly spoken in private settings by people of Basque ancestry, had disappeared from the islands by the late 1950s.

Religion

The population is overwhelmingly Christian, with the majority being Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Iles Saint-Pierre and Miquelon used to manage the local church until it was merged into the French diocese of La Rochelle and Saintes in 2018.

Culture

Every summer there is a Basque Festival, which has demonstrations of ''harrijasotzaile'' (stone heaving), ''aizkolari'' (lumberjack skills), and

Basque pelota Basque pelota ( Basque: '' pilota'', Spanish: '' pelota vasca'', French: '' pelote basque'') is the name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket, against a wall (''frontis or fronto ...

. The local cuisine is mostly based on seafood such as lobster, snow crab, mussels, and especially cod.

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

is very popular in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, with local teams often competing in Newfoundland-based leagues. The crew of the Fulmar, a patrol ship stationed in the islands, formed an ice hockey team, "O.K Fulmar". Several players from the islands have played on French and Canadian teams and even participated on France men's national ice hockey team in the Olympics. Street names are not commonly used on the islands. Directions and locations are commonly given using nicknames and the names of nearby residents. The only time the

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

was used in North America was on Saint-Pierre in the late 19th century. Joseph Néel was convicted of killing Mr Coupard on Île aux Chiens on 30 December 1888, and subsequently executed by

on 24 August 1889. The device had to be shipped from the French territory of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

and it did not arrive in working order. It was very difficult to get anyone to perform the execution; finally a recent immigrant was coaxed into doing the job. This event was the inspiration for the 2000 film ''

The Widow of Saint-Pierre ''The Widow of Saint-Pierre'' (french: La veuve de Saint-Pierre) is a 2000 Canadian-French film by Patrice Leconte with Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil and Emir Kusturica. Loosely inspired by an actual case, it tells the story of a disillusioned ...

''. The guillotine is now in a museum in Saint-Pierre.

Transportation

For many years there was no direct air link between Saint Pierre and mainland France. Although the 1999 opening of the

was intended to overcome this problem, a direct air link was not established until

Air Saint-Pierre Air Saint-Pierre is a French airline based in Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French overseas collectivity. The airline operates scheduled services between the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon-Langlade and to Canada. Its main base ...

announced it would conduct direct seasonal flights from Paris in the summer of 2018. Until then, all flights from and to Saint-Pierre passed through Canada. Air Saint-Pierre's ATR 42 aircraft flies seasonally from the Canadian airports of Sydney and Stephenville, and year-round from Halifax,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, and St John's. A smaller airport on Miquelon provides inter-island flights. Ferry services operated by

SPM Ferries SPM may refer to: Places * Saint Pierre and Miquelon (ISO 3166-1 code), an overseas French territory * Salón de la Plástica Mexicana, an art museum in Mexico City * Salsali Private Museum, Dubai, UAE * Shyama Prasad Mukherji College, Univ ...

connect Saint Pierre with Miquelon and the Newfoundland town of Fortune. In the summer, additional services operate between St Pierre and Langlade and between Miquelon and Fortune. Due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

restrictions, services to Fortune were suspended between March 2020 and August 2021. The ferries are capable of carrying up to 188 passengers and 18 vehicles.

Communications

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon have four radio stations; all stations operate on the

FM band The FM broadcast band is a range of radio frequencies used for FM broadcasting by radio stations. The range of frequencies used differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa (defined as International Telecommunication Union ( ...

, with the last stations converted from the

AM band Medium wave (MW) is the part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band The radio spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies from 0 Hz to 3,000 GHz (3 THz). Electromagnetic waves in this frequency ...

in 2004. Three of the stations are on Saint-Pierre, two of which are owned by Outre-Mer 1ère, along with one 1ère station on Miquelon. At night, these stations broadcast France-Inter. The other station (Radio Atlantique) is an affiliate of

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

. The nation is linked to North America and Europe by

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

communications for telephone and television service. The department of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is served by three television stations: Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon 1ère (

call letter In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

s FQN) on Channel 8, with a repeater on Channel 31, and

France Ô France Ô () was a French free-to-air television channel featuring programming from the French overseas departments and collectivities in Metropolitan France. It was part of the France Télévisions group. Its overseas counterpart is Outre-Mer ...

on Channel 6. While Saint-Pierre and Miquelon use the French

SECAM SECAM, also written SÉCAM (, ''Séquentiel de couleur à mémoire'', French for ''color sequential with memory''), is an analog color television system that was used in France, some parts of Europe and Africa, and Russia. It was one of th ...

-K1 standard for television broadcasts, the local telecommunications provider (SPM Telecom) carries many North American television stations and cable channels, converted from North America's

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

standard. In addition, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon 1ère is carried on

Shaw Direct Shaw Direct is a direct broadcast satellite television distributor in Canada and a subsidiary of the telecommunications company Shaw Communications. As of 2010, Shaw Direct had over 900,000 subscribers. It broadcasts on Ku band from two commu ...

satellite and most digital cable services in Canada, converted to NTSC. SPM Telecom is also the department's main

internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privat ...

, with its internet service being named Cheznoo (a play on Chez-Nous, French for "Our Place"). SPM Telecom also offers cellular phone and mobile phone service (for phones that adhere to the

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...

standard). SPM Telecom uses the GSM 900 MHz band, which is different from the GSM 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands used in the rest of North America. The islands are a well-known separate country-level entity among many radio amateurs, identifiable with ITU prefix "FP". Those visiting, mainly from the US, activate Saint-Pierre and Miquelon every year on amateur frequencies. Amateurs collect (records of) contacts with these stations for Islands on the Air and DX Century Club awards; the Atlantic coast gives great takeoff for shortwaves. A few miles away is Signal Hill, St. John's which first communicated across the Atlantic, namely with Marconi's Poldhu Wireless Station in England.

News

SPM Telecom publishes local news online at the Cheznoo web portal. Other publications include the magazine "Mathurin".

Education

The archipelago has four primary schools (Sainte Odile, Henriette Bonin, Feu Rouge, les Quatre-Temps), one middle school (Collège de Miquelon/Collège Saint-Christophe) with an annex in Miquelon, one state (government) high school ( Lycée-collège d’Etat Emile Letournel) and one vocational high school. The students who wish to further their studies after high school are granted access to scholarships to study overseas. Most students go to metropolitan France, although some go to Canada, mainly

. Saint Pierre's institute for higher learning is the Institut Frecker, which is associated with Memorial University of Newfoundland. Since 2000 Frecker had been operated by the Government of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, with support of the federal government of Canada and the provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Health

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon's health care system is entirely public and free. In 1994 France and Canada signed an agreement allowing the residents of the archipelago to be treated in St. John's. In 2015 St-Pierre and Miquelon indicated that they would start looking for a new healthcare provider as recent rate increases by Eastern Health in Newfoundland were too expensive (increasing to $3.3 million in 2014 from $2.5 million in 2010).

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

and Moncton, New Brunswick were mooted as possible locations. Since 1985 Hôpital François Dunan provides basic care and emergency care for residents of both islands. The island's first hospital was military in 1904 and became a civilian facility in 1905. L'Hôpital-Hospice-Orphelinat opened in 1937.

Fire services

Fire stations: * Both airports, St Pierre and Miquelon, separately * Service incendie Ville de St Pierre – Caserne Renaissance has five apparatuses: 2

pumpers A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an ...

, aerial ladders and a

hazmat Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...

. This replaced Caserne Daguerre. * Service incendie Miquelon has four apparatuses: aerial, hazmat, two pumpers Most are second-hand units from North America but St Pierre acquired an aerial ladder from France in 2016.

Notes

References

External links

Government of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pierre And Miquelon 1946 establishments in the French colonial empire Archipelagoes of France Dependent territories in North America Former departments of France in France French-speaking countries and territories Island countries Islands of the North Atlantic Ocean Member states of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie New France Overseas collectivities of France States and territories established in 1946 Territorial disputes of Canada Territorial disputes of France Northern America