Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
that is an
overseas department and region
The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as " metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the s ...
of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Part of the
Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the island of
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
and southwest of the island of
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. , it had a population of 896,175.
Its capital and largest city is
Saint-Denis.
Réunion was uninhabited until French immigrants and colonial subjects settled the island in the 17th century. Its tropical climate led to the development of a plantation economy focused primarily on sugar; slaves from East Africa were imported as fieldworkers, followed by Malays,
Vietnamese, Chinese, and Indians as indentured laborers. Today, the greatest proportion of the population is of mixed descent, while the predominant language is
Réunion Creole
Réunion Creole, or Reunionese Creole (; ), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken on Réunion. It is derived mainly from French language, French and includes terms from Malagasy language, Malagasy, Hindi, Port ...
, though French remains the sole official language.
Since 1946, Réunion has been governed as a
French region and thus has a similar status to its counterparts in Metropolitan France. Consequently, it is one of the
outermost regions of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and part of the
eurozone
The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
; it is, along with the French overseas department of
Mayotte
Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...
, one of the two eurozone areas in the
Southern Hemisphere. Owing to its strategic location, France maintains a large military presence.
Name
The French took possession of the island in the 17th century, naming it Isle Bourbon after the
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...
which then ruled France. To break with this name, which was too attached to the ''
Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for " ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
'', the
National Convention
The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...
decided on 23 March 1793 to rename the territory Réunion. ("Réunion", in French, usually means "meeting" or "assembly" rather than "reunion". This name was presumably chosen in homage to the meeting of the
fédérés of Marseilles and the Paris
National Guards that preceded the
insurrection of 10 August 1792. No document establishes this, and the word "meeting" could have been purely symbolic.)
The island changed its name again in the 19th century: in 1806, under the
First Empire, General Decaen named it Isle Bonaparte (after
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
), though, in 1810, it became Isle Bourbon again. It was eventually renamed Réunion after
the fall of the July monarchy by a decree of the provisional government on 7 March 1848.
In accordance with the original spelling and the classical spelling and typographical rules, "la Réunion" was written with a lower case in the article, but during the end of the 20th century the spelling "La Réunion" with a capital letter was developed in many writings to emphasize the integration of the article in the name. This last spelling corresponds to the recommendations of the ''Commission nationale de toponymie'' and appears in the current
Constitution of the French Republic in articles 72-3 and 73.
History

The island has been inhabited since the 17th century, when people from France and Madagascar settled there. Slavery was abolished on 20 December 1848 (a date celebrated yearly on the island), when the
Second Republic abolished slavery in the French colonies. However,
indentured workers continued to be brought to Réunion from
South India, among other places. The island
became an overseas department of France in 1946.
Early history
Not much is known of Réunion's history before the arrival of the Portuguese in the early 16th century.
Arab traders were familiar with it by the name ''Dina Morgabin'', "Western Island" (likely ''Daniyah/Dībah Maghribīy'').
The island is possibly featured on a map from 1153 AD by
Al Sharif el-Edrisi. The island might also have been visited by
Swahili or
Austronesian (ancient Indonesian–Malaysian) sailors on their journey to the west from the
Malay Archipelago to Madagascar.
[
The first European discovery of the area was made around 1507 by Portuguese explorer Diogo Fernandes Pereira, but the specifics are unclear. The uninhabited island might have been first sighted by the expedition led by Dom Pedro Mascarenhas, who gave his name to the island group around Réunion, the Mascarenes.] Réunion itself was dubbed ''Santa Apolónia'' after a favourite saint,[ which suggests that the date of the Portuguese discovery could have been 9 February, her feast day. Diogo Lopes de Sequeira is said to have landed on the islands of Réunion and Rodrigues in 1509.
]
Isle Bourbon (1642–1793)
By the early 1600s, nominal Portuguese rule had left Santa Apolónia virtually untouched.[ The island was then occupied by France and administered from ]Port Louis
Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...
, Mauritius. Although the first French claims date from 1638, when and Salomon Goubert visited in June 1638, the island was officially claimed by of France in 1642, when he deported a dozen French mutineers to the island from Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
.
The convicts were returned to France several years later, and in 1649, the island was named Île Bourbon after the House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...
. Colonisation started in 1665, when the French East India Company sent the first settlers.[
The French colonists developed a plantation economy founded on the cultivation of coffee and sugar by use of slave labor.
From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French colonisation, supplemented by importing Africans, Chinese, and Indians as workers, contributed to ethnic diversity in the population. From 1690, most of the non-Europeans on the island were enslaved.
Of the 80,000 slaves imported to Réunion and Mauritius between 1769 and 1793, 45% was provided by slave traders of the Sakalava people in North West Madagascar, who raided East Africa and the Comoros for slaves, and the rest was provided by Arab slave traders who bought slaves from Portuguese Mozambique and transported them to Réunion via Madagascar.][Asian and African Systems of Slavery. (1980). Storbritannien: University of California Press. p. 75–76]
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1814)
On 19 March 1793, during the French Revolution, the island's name was changed to "La Réunion" in homage to the meeting of the Federates of Marseille and the National Guards of Paris, during the march on the Tuileries Palace on 10 August 1792, and to erase the name of the Bourbon dynasty.
The abolition of slavery
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
voted by the National Convention
The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...
on 4 February 1794, was rejected by authorities in Réunion, as well as in Isle de France. A delegation accompanied by military forces, charged with imposing the liberation of slaves, arrived on the island of Bourbon on 18 June 1796, only to be immediately expelled without mercy. There followed a period of unrest and challenges to the power of the metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big city b ...
, which no longer had any authority over the two islands. The First Consul of the Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, maintained slavery there, which was never abolished in practice, with the law of 20 May 1802. On 26 September 1806, the island was renamed Isle Bonaparte and found itself on the front line of the Anglo-French conflict for the control of the Indian Ocean.
Following climatic catastrophes of 1806–1807 (cyclones, floods), coffee cultivation declined rapidly and was replaced by sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
, whose demand in France increased, due to France's recent loss of Saint-Domingue, and soon of the Isle de France. Because of its growth cycle, sugarcane is not affected by cyclones.
During the Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, the island was invaded by British forces and its governor, General Sainte-Suzanne, was forced to capitulate on 9 July 1810. The island then came under British rule and was under British occupation until the end of the Napoleonic period. The old name of Isle Bourbon was restored in 1810.
Colony of Bourbon, then Réunion (1814–1946)
Bourbon Island was returned to the French under the Treaty of Paris of 1814. The slave trade openly operated in the colony after French rule was restored, and despite international condemnation, Bourbon Island imported 2,000 slaves every month during the 1820s, mostly from the Swahili coast or Quelimane in Portuguese Mozambique. In 1841, Edmond Albius' discovery of hand-pollination of vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...
flowers enabled the island to soon become the world's leading vanilla producer. The cultivation of geranium, whose essence is widely used in perfumery, also took off. From 1838 to 1841, Rear-Admiral Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell was governor of the island. A profound change in society and mentality linked to the events of the last ten years led the governor to present three emancipation projects to the Colonial Council.
On 9 June 1848, after the arrival of news of the French Revolution of 1848 from Europe, governor announced the proclamation of the French Republic in Saint-Denis, and on that same day the island was renamed "Réunion", the name it had already held between 1793 and 1806. The establishment of the Republic was met with coldness and distrust by the white plantocracy due to the professed abolitionism of the new Republican authorities in Paris. On 18 October 1848, the new Commissioner of the Republic Joseph Napoléon Sébastien Sarda Garriga, sent from Paris to replace Graëb, announced in Saint-Denis the abolition of slavery in Réunion, effective on 20 December 1848 (December 20 has been an official holiday in Réunion since then). Louis Henri Hubert Delisle became its first Creole governor on 8 August 1852, and remained in this position until 8 January 1858.
After abolition, many foreign workers came as indentured workers. Slavery was replaced by a system of contract labor known as ''engagés'', which lasted from 1848 until 1864.[Asian and African Systems of Slavery. (1980). Storbritannien: University of California Press. p. 75–77] In practice, an illegal slave trade was conducted in which slaves were acquired from Portuguese Mozambique and Zanzibar
Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...
and then trafficked to Réunion via the Comoros slave trade. They were officially called ''engagés'' to avoid the anti-slavery British blockade of Africa.
The opening of the Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
in 1869 reduced the importance of the island as a stopover on the East Indies
The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...
trade route and caused a shift in commercial traffic away from the island. Europe increasingly turned to sugar beet to meet its sugar needs. Despite the development policy of the local authorities and the recourse to compromise, the economic crisis became evident from the 1870s onwards. However, this economic depression did not prevent the modernization of the island, with the development of the road network, the creation of the railroad, and the construction of the artificial harbor of the Pointe des Galets. These major construction projects offered a welcome alternative for agricultural workers.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Réunion was under the control of Vichy France
Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...
until 30 November 1942, when Free French forces disembarked from the destroyer ''Léopard'' and liberated the colony.
Modern history (1946–1999)
Réunion became a ''département d'outre-mer
The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as " metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the s ...
'' (overseas département) of France on 19 March 1946. INSEE assigned to Réunion the department code 974
, and the region code 04
when regional councils were created in 1982 in France, including in existing overseas departments that also became overseas regions.
Over about two decades in the late 20th century (1963–1982), 1,630 children from Réunion were relocated to rural areas of metropolitan France
Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
, particularly to Creuse
Creuse (; or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the east, Cor ...
, ostensibly for education and work opportunities. That programme was led by influential Gaullist politician Michel Debré, who was an MP for Réunion at the time. Many of these children were abused or disadvantaged by the families with whom they were placed. Known as the Children of Creuse, they and their fate came to light in 2002 when one of them, Jean-Jacques Martial, filed suit against the French state for kidnapping and deportation of a minor. Other similar lawsuits were filed over the following years, but all were dismissed by French courts and finally by the European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
in 2011.
21st century
In 2005 and 2006, Réunion was hit by a crippling epidemic of chikungunya, a disease spread by mosquitoes. According to the BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, 255,000 people on Réunion had contracted the disease as of 26 April 2006. The neighbouring islands of Mauritius and Madagascar also suffered epidemics of this disease during the same year.
Cyclone Garance struck Réunion in March 2025, killing at least four people and leaving over 160,000 without power. The cyclone, with winds up to 230 km/h, made landfall in the north of the island before moving southwest, causing flash floods, mudslides, and structural damage. Authorities lifted a red alert after the storm weakened. Thousands were left without drinking water or internet, and flights were temporarily halted. French Prime Minister François Bayrou urged caution, while residents described the cyclone as one of the most powerful they had experienced.
Politics
Réunion sends seven deputies to the French National Assembly
The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...
and three senators to the Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
.
Status
Réunion is an overseas department and region of France (known in French as a ''département et région d'outre-mer'', DROM) governed by article 73 of the Constitution of France, under which the laws and regulations are applicable as of right, as in metropolitan France.
Thus, Réunion has a regional council and a departmental council. These territorial entities have the same general powers as the departments and regions of metropolitan France, albeit with some adaptations. Article 73 of the constitution provides for the possibility of replacing the region and the department by a single territorial entity, but, unlike French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
or Martinique
Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
, there are currently no plans to do so. Unlike the other DROMs, the constitution explicitly excludes Réunion from the possibility of receiving authorization from Parliament to set certain rules itself, either by law or by the national executive. The state is represented in Réunion by a prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect' ...
. The territory is divided into four districts (Saint-Benoît, Saint-Denis, Saint-Paul, and Saint-Pierre). Réunion has 24 municipalities organized into 5 agglomeration communities. From the point of view of the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, Réunion is considered an "outermost region".
Geopolitics
The positioning of Réunion Island has given it a more or less important strategic role depending on the period.
Already at the time of the India Route or ''Route des Indes,'' Réunion was a French possession located between Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
and the Indian trading posts, although far from the Mozambique Channel. Isle Bourbon (its name under the Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for " ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
) was not, however, the preferred position for trade and military. Governor Labourdonnais claimed that the Isle de France was a land of opportunity, thanks to its topography and the presence of two natural harbours. He intended Isle Bourbon to be a depot or an emergency base for Isle de France.
The opening of the Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
diverted much of the maritime traffic from the southern Indian Ocean and reduced the strategic importance of the island. This decline is confirmed by the importance given to Madagascar, which was later colonized.[Raoul LUCAS et Mario SERVIABLE, C.R.I p. 26]
Today, the island, the seat of a defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
and security zone, is the headquarters of the French Armed Forces
The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...
of the Southern Indian Ocean Zone (FAZSOI), which brings together French Army units stationed in LaRéunion and Mayotte. Réunion is also a base for the so-called Frenchelon signal intelligence system, whose infrastructure includes a mobile listening and automatic search unit. Saint-Pierre is also the headquarters of the mostly uninhabited French Southern and Antarctic Lands (''Terres australes et antarctiques françaises'', TAAF). Because of France's possession of Réunion, France is a member of the Indian Ocean Commission, which also includes the Comoros, Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
, and the Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
.
Administrative divisions
Administratively, Réunion is divided into 24 ''communes'' (municipalities) grouped into four ''arrondissements''. It is also subdivided into 25 cantons, meaningful only for electoral purposes at the departmental or regional level. It is a French overseas department, hence a French overseas region. The low number of ''communes'', compared with French metropolitan departments of similar size and population, is unique: most of its ''communes'' encompass several localities, sometimes separated by significant distances.
Municipalities (''communes'')
The ''communes'' voluntarily grouped themselves into five groups for cooperating in some domains, apart from the four ''arrondissements'' to which they belong for purposes of national laws and executive regulation. After some changes in their composition, name and status, all of them operate with the status of agglomeration communities, and apply their own local taxation (in addition to national, regional, departmental, and municipal taxes) and have an autonomous budget decided by the assembly representing all member communes. This budget is also partly funded by the state, the region, the department, and the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
for some development and investment programmes. Every ''commune'' in Réunion is now a member of such an intercommunality, with its own taxation, to which member communes have delegated their authority in various areas.
Foreign relations
Although diplomacy, military, and French government matters are handled by Paris, Réunion is a member of La Francophonie, the Indian Ocean Commission, the International Trade Union Confederation
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; ; ; ) is the world's largest trade union federation.
History
The federation was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) a ...
, the Universal Postal Union, the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa, and the World Federation of Trade Unions
The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade union, trade unions established on October 3, 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the Int ...
in its own right.
Defence
The French Armed Forces
The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...
are responsible for the defence of the department. These forces also contribute to the defence of other French territories in the region, including Mayotte
Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...
and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. A total of some 2,000 French troops are deployed in the region, mostly in Réunion, centred on the 2nd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment. Two CASA CN 235 aircraft, forming air detachment 181 and drawn from the 50th Air Transport squadron, provide a modest air transport and surveillance capability. In 2022, the French Air Force demonstrated a capacity to reinforce the territory by deploying two Rafale fighter aircraft, supported by an A330 MRTT Phénix tanker, from France to Réunion for a regional exercise.
The French naval presence includes two s, and , the icebreaker , the patrol and support ship ''Champlain'' and the coast guard vessel ''Le Malin''. The naval aviation element includes a Eurocopter AS565 Panther helicopter from Flottille 36F able to embark on the ''Floréal''-class frigates as required. In 2025, the helicopter is to be replaced by a AS 365N Dauphin. By 2025, ''Le Malin'' is to be replaced by ''Auguste Techer'', a vessel of the new ''Félix Éboué'' class of patrol vessels. The French Navy will further reinforce its offshore patrol capabilities in the region by deploying a second vessel of the class (''Félix Éboué'') to Réunion by 2027.
About 800 National Gendarmerie, including one mobile squadron and one high mountain platoon, are also stationed in Réunion.
Geography
The island is long; wide; and covers . It is above a hotspot in the Earth's crust. The Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano on the eastern end of Réunion, rises more than above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
and is sometimes called a sister to Hawaiian volcanoes because of the similarity of climate and volcanic nature. It has erupted more than 100 times since 1640, and is under constant monitoring, most recently erupting on 2 July 2023. During another eruption in April 2007, the lava flow was estimated at per day. The hotspot that fuels Piton de la Fournaise also created the islands of Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
and Rodrigues.
The Piton des Neiges volcano, the highest point on the island at above sea level, is northwest of the Piton de la Fournaise. Collapsed calderas and canyons are southwest of the mountain. While the Piton de la Fournaise is one of Earth's most active volcanoes, the Piton des Neiges is dormant. Its name is French for "peak of snows", but snowfall on the summit of the mountain is rare. The slopes of both volcanoes are heavily forested. Cultivated land and cities like the capital city of Saint-Denis are concentrated on the surrounding coastal lowlands. Offshore, part of the west coast is characterised by a coral reef system. Réunion also has three caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...
s: the Cirque de Salazie, the Cirque de Cilaos
A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform arising from flu ...
and the Cirque de Mafate. The last is accessible only on foot or by helicopter.
File:Ppalmistes2.jpg, Plaine-des-Palmistes
File:La réunion 0700a.jpg, Cirque de Mafate is a caldera formed from the collapse of the large shield volcano, the '' Piton des Neiges''.
File:Reunion 21.12S 55.51E.jpg, Réunion from space (NASA image): The three cirques, forming a kind of three-leafed clover shape, are visible in the central north west of the image. Piton de la Fournaise is in the south east.
File:Volcanreunion.jpg, Lava flow emitted in 2005 by the Piton de la Fournaise
File:L'Ermitage beach, Réunion.jpg, "Plage de l'Ermitage" beach
Geology and relief
Réunion is a volcanic island born some three million years ago with the emergence of the Piton des Neiges volcano. It has an altitude of , the highest peak in the Mascarene Islands and the Indian Ocean. The eastern part of the island is constituted by the Piton de la Fournaise, a much more recent volcano (500,000 years old) which is considered one of the most active on the planet. The emerged part of the island represents only a small percentage (about 3%) of the underwater mountain that forms it.
In addition to volcanism, the relief
Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
of the island is very uneven due to active erosion. The centre shelters three vast cirques dug by erosion (Salazie, Mafate and Cilaos), and the slopes of the island are furrowed by numerous rivers digging gullies, estimated at least 600 generally deep and whose torrents cut the sides of the mountains up to several hundred metres deep.
The ancient massif of the Piton des Neiges is separated from the massif
A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...
of La Fournaise by a gap formed by the plaine des Palmistes and the plaine des Cafres, a passageway between the east and the south of the island. Apart from the plains, the coastal areas are generally the flattest regions, especially in the north and west of the island. The coastline of the wild south is, however, steeper.
Between the coastal fringe and the Hauts, there is a steep transitional zone whose gradient varies considerably before arriving at the ridge lines setting the cirques or the Enclos, the caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...
of the Piton de la Fournaise.
Climate
Réunion is characterized by a humid tropical climate
Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of or higher in the coolest month, featuring hot te ...
, tempered by the oceanic influence of the trade wind
The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere, ...
s blowing from east to west. The climate of Réunion is characterized by its great variability, mainly due to the imposing relief of the island, which produces numerous distinct microclimates.
As a result, there are strong disparities in rainfall between the windward coast in the east and the leeward coast in the west, and in temperature between the warmer coastal areas and the relatively cooler highland areas.
In Réunion, there are two distinct seasons, defined by the rainfall regime:
* a rainy season from January to March, during which most of the year's rain falls;
* a dry season from May to November. However, in the eastern part and the foothills of the volcano
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...
, rainfall can be significant even in the dry season;
April and December are transition months, sometimes very rainy but also very dry.
Pointe des Trois Bassins, located on the coast of the commune of Trois-Bassins (west), is the driest station, with a normal annual precipitation of , while Le Baril, in Saint-Philippe (southeast), is the wettest coastal station, with a normal annual precipitation of .
However, the wettest station is in the highlands of Sainte-Rose, with an average annual rainfall of almost , making it one of the wettest places in the world.
Temperatures in Réunion are characterized by their great mildness throughout the year. The thermal amplitude from one season to another is relatively small (rarely exceeding 10 °C or 18 °F), although it is perceptible:
* In the warm season (November to April): average minimums usually range between , and average maximums between , on the coast. At , average minimums fluctuate between and average maximums between ;
* In the cold season (May to October): temperatures at sea level vary from for average minimums and from for average maximums. At , average minimums range from and average maximums from .
In mountain towns, such as Cilaos or La Plaine-des-Palmistes, average temperatures range between . The highest parts of the habitat and the natural areas at altitude may suffer some winter frosts. Snow was even observed on the Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise in 2003 and 2006.
The warmest day on record was set on 30 January 2022. In the cold pole of the Réunion (all-time low ) Gite de Bellecombe ( AMSL) with a maximum temperature of . It beats the previous record of set in 2021.
While a growing number of islands (including "non-sovereign" islands) in the world are concerned about the effects of climate change, the island of Réunion was chosen (along with Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...
in Spain) as an example for a case study of an affected ultra-European peripheral territory, for a study on the adequacy of urban and regional planning tools to the needs and characteristics of these islands (including land use and population density and the regulatory framework).
This work confirmed that urban and peri-urban land use pressures are high and that adaptation strategies are incompletely integrated into land use planning. According to the Institute of Island Studies, there is a dysfunction: "island planning tools often do not take climate change adaptation
Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to the effects of climate change, both current and anticipated.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary[Möller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger ...
into account and there is too much top-down management in the decision-making process". Réunion holds the world records for the most rainfall in 12-, 24-, 72- and 96-hour periods, including in 24 hours.
Beaches
Réunion hosts many beaches. They are often equipped with barbecues, amenities, and parking spaces. Hermitage Beach is the most extensive and best-preserved lagoon in Réunion Island and a popular snorkelling location. It is a white sand beach lined with casuarina trees under which the locals often organise picnics.
At La Plage des Brisants, a surfing spot, many athletic and leisure activities take place. Each November, a film festival is organised there. Movies are projected on a large screen in front of a crowd.
Beaches at Boucan are surrounded by a stretch of restaurants that particularly cater to tourists. L'Étang-Salé on the west coast is covered in black sand consisting of tiny fragments of basalt. This occurs when lava contacts water, it cools rapidly and shatters into the sand and fragmented debris of various sizes. Much of the debris is small enough to be considered sand. Grand Anse is a tropical white-sand beach lined with coconut trees in the south of Réunion, with a rock pool built for swimmers, a pétanque playground, and a picnic area. Le Vieux Port in Saint Philippe is a green-sand beach consisting of tiny olivine crystals, formed by the 2007 lava flow, making it one of the youngest beaches on Earth.
File:Grand Anse Beach Reunion Island.jpg, Sunset at Grand Anse beach Réunion Island
File:Manapany, La Réunion.jpg, Manapany beach rock pool
File:Étang-salé-les-bains-plage03.jpg, L'Étang-Salé Beach - a black sand beach from volcanic basalt
File:La Reunion lagoon dsc00240.jpg, L'Ermitage les Bains lagoon in front of Saint Paul, and its pass through the coral reef
Environment
Flora
The tropical and insular flora of Réunion Island is characterized by its diversity, a very high rate of endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
, and a very specific structure. The flora of Réunion presents a great diversity of natural environments and species (up to 40 tree species/ha, compared to a temperate forest, which has an average of 5/ha). This diversity is even more remarkable, but fragile, as it differs according to the environment (coastal, low, medium, and high mountain).
Réunion has a very high rate of endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
species, with more than 850 native plants (of natural origin and present before the arrival of humans), of which 232 are endemic to the Réunion (only present on the island), as well as numerous species endemic to the Mascarene archipelago. Finally, the flora of Réunion is distinguished from that of equatorial tropical forests by the low height and density of the canopy, probably due to adaptation to cyclones, and by a very specific vegetation, in particular a strong presence of epiphytic plants (growing on other plants), such as orchids, bromeliads and cacti, but also ferns, lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
s, and moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...
es.
Wildlife
Like its prodigious floral diversity, Réunion is home to a variety of birds such as the white-tailed tropicbird (). Many of these bird species are endemic to the island, such as the Réunion harrier and Réunion cuckooshrike. Its largest land animal is the panther chameleon, ''Furcifer pardalis.'' Much of the west coast is ringed by coral reefs which harbour, among other animals, sea urchin
Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...
s, conger eels, and parrot fish. Sea turtle
Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...
s and dolphins also inhabit the coastal waters. Humpback whales migrate north to the island from the Antarctic waters annually during the Southern Hemisphere winter (June–September) to breed and feed, and can be routinely observed from the shores of Réunion during this season.
Beekeepers began importing European honey bees during the late 19th century, which in turn have bred with the endemic '' Apis mellifera unicolor'' subspecies, which originated from Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. 97% of the honey bees on the island are descended from ''A. m. unicolor''; however, their DNA only accounts for 53% of the genetic mixture. In an attempt to prevent the spread of diseases a bee importation ban was imposed in 1982, however in 2017 one or two Varroa destructor mites were brought into the island when a Queen bee was smuggled in by a beekeeper, within 4.5 months the mites had spread throughout the island, causing an increase of annual deaths of colonies from 0.6% to 64%, after initially reaching 85%.
At least 19 species formerly endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Réunion have become extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
following human colonisation. For example, the Réunion giant tortoise became extinct after being slaughtered in vast numbers by sailors and settlers of the island.
File:FurciferPardalisMale.JPG, A panther chameleon
File:Pomacanthus imperator juvénile.JPG, A juvenile Emperor angelfish
File:Idole des Maures (Zanclus cornutus).jpg, A Moorish idol
File:White-tailed tropicbird.jpg, A white-tailed Tropicbird
File:Eretmochelys imbricata 01.jpg, A Hawksbill sea turtle
File:Humpback whale bis.jpeg, A Humpback whale
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...
off St-Gilles
Marine biodiversity
Despite the small area of coral reefs, the marine biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
of Réunion is comparable to that of other islands in the area, which has earned the Mascarene archipelago its inclusion among the top ten global biodiversity "hotspots". Réunion's coral reefs, both flat and barrier, are dominated mainly by fast-growing branching coral species of the genus Acropora (family Acroporidae), which provide shelter and food for many tropical species.
Recent scientific research in Réunion Island indicates that there are more than 190 species of corals, more than 1,300 species of mollusks, more than 500 species of crustaceans, more than 130 species of echinoderms and more than 1,000 species of fish.
Réunion's deeper waters are home to dolphins, killer whales, humpback whales, blue sharks, and a variety of shark species, including whale sharks, coral sharks, bull sharks, tiger sharks, blacktip sharks, and great white sharks. Several species of sea turtles live and breed here.
Between 2010 and 2017, 23 shark attacks occurred in the waters of Réunion, of which nine were fatal. In July 2013, the Prefect of Réunion Michel Lalande announced a ban on swimming, surfing, and bodyboarding off more than half of the coast. Lalande also said 45 bull sharks and 45 tiger sharks would be culled, in addition to the 20 already killed as part of scientific research into the illness ciguatera.
Migrations of humpback whale
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...
s contributed to a boom of whale watching industries on Réunion, and watching rules have been governed by the OMAR (Observatoire Marin de la Réunion) and Globice (Groupe local d'observation et d'identification des cétacés).
Coral reef
Because the island is relatively young (3 million years old),[Emmanuel Tessier, Saint Denis, Thèse de doctorat sous la direction de Pascale Chabanet et Catherine Aliaume, 2005, 254 p] the coral formations (8,000 years old) are not well developed and occupy a small area compared to older islands, mostly in the form of fringing reefs.
These formations define shallow "lagoons" (rather "reef depressions"), the largest of which is no more than wide and about deep. These lagoons, which form a discontinuous reef belt long (i.e. 12% of the island's coastline) with a total area of , are located on the west and southwest coast of the island. The most important are those of L'Ermitage (St-Gilles), St-Leu, L'Étang-Salé, and St-Pierre.
Management
Since 2010, Réunion is home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
that covers about 40% of the island's area and coincides with the central zone of the La Réunion National Park. The island is part of the Mascarene forests terrestrial ecoregion.
Gardening and Bourbon roses
The first members of the "Bourbon" group of garden roses originated on this island (then still Isle Bourbon, hence the name) from a spontaneous hybridisation between Damask roses and ''Rosa chinensis
''Rosa chinensis'' (), known commonly as the China rose, Chinese rose, or Bengal rose, is a member of the genus '' Rosa'' native to Southwest China in Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan Provinces. The first publication of ''Rosa chinensis'' was in 1768 ...
'', which had been brought there by the colonists. The first Bourbon roses were discovered on the island in 1817.
Threats to the environment
Among coastal ecosystems
An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
, coral reefs are among the richest in biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
, but they are also the most fragile.
Nearly one-third of fish species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
were already considered threatened or vulnerable in 2009, with coral degradation in many places. The causes of this state of affairs are pollution, overfishing
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...
, and poaching, as well as anthropogenic pressure, especially linked to the densification of urbanization in coastal areas and the discharge of sewage.
15 species living on Réunion were included in the Red List published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...
(IUCN).
Demographics
Historical population
Major metropolitan areas
The most populous metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
is Saint-Denis, which covers six communes (Saint-Denis, Sainte-Marie, La Possession
La Possession () is a Commune in France, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Réunion. It is located in the northwestern part of the island of Réunion, between the capital of Saint-Den ...
, Sainte-Suzanne, Saint-André, and Bras-Panon) in the north of the island. The three largest metropolitan areas are:
Migration and ethnic groups
At the 2019 census, 82.4% of the inhabitants of Réunion were born on the island, 11.7% were born in Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
, 1.0% were born in Mayotte
Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...
, 0.3% were born in the rest of Overseas France
Overseas France (, also ) consists of 13 France, French territories outside Europe, mostly the remnants of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonisation. Most are part of the E ...
, and 4.6% were born in foreign countries (46% of them children of French expatriates and settlers born in foreign countries, such as children of Réunionese settlers born in Madagascar during colonial times; the other 54% immigrants, i.e. people born in foreign countries with no French nationality at birth).
In recent decades, the number of Metropolitan Frenchmen living on the Réunion has increased markedly: only 5,664 natives of Metropolitan France lived in Réunion at the 1967 census, but their numbers were multiplied by more than six in 23 years, reaching 37,516 at the 1990 census, and then nearly tripled in the next three decades, reaching 100,493 at the 2019 census. Native Réunionese, meanwhile, have emigrated increasingly to Metropolitan France: the number of natives of Réunion living in Metropolitan France rose from 16,548 at the 1968 census to 92,354 at the 1990 census to 130,662 at the 2019 census, by which date 15.7% of the natives of Réunion lived outside of the department.
Réunion has received little immigration since World War II, and by the 2019 census, only 2.5% of its inhabitants were immigrants. This is in contrast to the situation that prevailed from the middle of the 19th century until World War Two when many migrants from India (especially from Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
and Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
), Eastern Asia (particularly China), and Africa came to Réunion to work in the plantation economy. Their descendants have now become French citizens.
Ethnic groups present include people of African, Indian, European, Malagasy and Chinese origin. Local names for these are Yabs, Cafres, Malbars and Chinois. All of the ethnic groups on the island are immigrant populations that have come to Réunion from Europe, Asia, and Africa over the centuries. These populations have mixed from the earliest days of the island's colonial history (the first settlers married women from Madagascar and of Indo-Portuguese heritage), resulting in a majority population of mixed race
The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more
races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...
and of "Creole" culture.
It is not known exactly how many people of each ethnicity live in Réunion, since the French census does not ask questions about ethnic origin, which applies in Réunion because it is a part of France per the 1958 constitution. The extent of racial mixing on the island also makes ethnic estimates difficult. According to estimates, Whites make up roughly one quarter of the population, Malbars make up more than 25% of the population and people of Chinese ancestry form roughly 3%. The percentages for those of African and mixed-race origins vary widely in estimates. Also, some people of Vietnamese ancestry live on the island, though they are very few.
Tamils
The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...
are the largest group among the Indian community. The island's community of Muslims from northwestern India, particularly Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
, and elsewhere is commonly referred to as '' zarabes''.
Creoles (a name given to those born on the island, regardless of ethnic origins) make up the majority of the population. Groups that are not Creole include people recently arrived from Metropolitan France (known as '' zoreilles'') and those from Mayotte
Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...
and the Comoros, as well as immigrants from Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
and Sri Lankan Tamil refugees.
Religion
The predominant religion is Christianity. The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
has a single jurisdiction, the Diocese of Saint-Denis-de-La Réunion. Religious Intelligence estimates Christians to be 84.9% of the population, followed by Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
s (10%) and Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s (2.15%). Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
and Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
are also represented.
Most large towns have a Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...
and a mosque.
Ritual
''See also'':
There are traditional Réunionnais ceremonial practices (, or ) of ancestor veneration arising from Malagasy roots, blended with Malabar, Comorian, European, and Chinese cultural influences. These may be practised by those adhering to the main religions of Christianity, Hinduism and Islam.
Culture
Réunionese culture is a blend () of European, African, Indian, Chinese and insular traditions. The most widely spoken language, Réunion Creole
Réunion Creole, or Reunionese Creole (; ), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken on Réunion. It is derived mainly from French language, French and includes terms from Malagasy language, Malagasy, Hindi, Port ...
, derives from French.
Language
French is the sole official language of Réunion. Though not official, Réunion Creole
Réunion Creole, or Reunionese Creole (; ), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken on Réunion. It is derived mainly from French language, French and includes terms from Malagasy language, Malagasy, Hindi, Port ...
is widely spoken alongside French. Creole is commonly used for informal purposes, whereas the official language for administrative purposes, as well as education, is French.
Other languages spoken on Réunion include: Comorian varieties (especially Shimaore) and Malagasy, by recent immigrants from Mayotte
Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...
and Madagascar; Mandarin, Hakka and Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
by members of the Chinese community; Indian languages, mostly Tamil, Gujarati and Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
; and Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
, spoken by a small community of Muslims. These languages are generally spoken by immigrants, as those born on the island tend to use French and Creole.
Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
, Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and Tamil are offered as optional languages in some schools.
Music and dance
Two forms make up the musical tradition of Réunion Island. One, the sega, is a Creole variant of the quadrille
The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six ''Contra dance, contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of ope ...
; the other, the maloya, like the American blues, comes from Africa, carried by the nostalgia and pain of enslaved people uprooted and deported from their homeland. Sega is present on other islands, while maloya is traditional only in Réunion.
The sega is a disguised ballroom dance to the rhythm of traditional Western instruments (accordion, harmonica, guitar, etc.), and stems from the wider colonial society at the time. It is still the typical ballroom dance of the islands of Réunion, Rodrigues, Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
, and the Mascarene archipelago in general. Mauritian sega and Rhodesia
Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
n sega also continue.
The slaves' maloya, a ritual dance full of melodies and gestures, was performed, often clandestinely, at night around a bonfire; the few instruments that accompanied it were made of plants (bamboo, gourds, etc.). Performance was often an underground activity on plantations as slaveholders disapproved of this cultural expression by the enslaved. From the 1960s, it was suppressed by the French government, which feared its association with Réunionnais pro-autonomy movements and with communism. The sometimes controversial lyrics reminded France of its slave-owning past and underlined the damage this colonial era did to human beings; in the course of the island's history, Maloya artists and (; gatherings) were banned by authorities. Maloya troupes continued to perform in the face of official repression: along with their artistic expression, they wanted to perpetuate the memory of the slaves
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
, their suffering, and their uprooting. The French government's attitude to Maloya did not alter until 1981, when François Mitterrand became president.
Every 20 December, the inhabitants of Réunion celebrate . This celebration, also known as the (or in , also, ), commemorates the proclamation of the final abolition of slavery by governor Joseph Sarda for the French Second Republic
The French Second Republic ( or ), officially the French Republic (), was the second republican government of France. It existed from 1848 until its dissolution in 1852.
Following the final defeat of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle ...
in 1848. Numerous concerts are organized, most of them free, as well as costume parades and dance shows such as merengue, for example.
With the institution of a public holiday to celebrate the abolition of slavery, maloya has received official and wider cultural recognition; it is regularly played on public radio and in many discotheques and dance parties. A revival of maloya, beginning in the 1970s and particularly identified with musician Danyèl Waro, a protégé of Firmin Viry, raised its cultural status. Groups began to make modern versions, styles, and arrangements, such as maloggae and other electric maloya.
Some of Réunion's emblematic maloya artists and groups include: Groupe folklorique de La Réunion; Kalou Pilé; Baster; Ousanousava; Ziskakan; Pat'Jaune; Danyèl Waro; and Tisours. One of the most revered Maloya singers was . Born in Sainte-Suzanne, he was one of the first to sing Maloya. When he died in 2004, many people were present at his funeral.
In 2008, the artist and musician made a video entitled ''La Réunion''. In this clip, we see him crossing all the landscapes of the island.
In the field of contemporary dance, the choreographer Pascal Montrouge, who directs the only company in France that has a double headquarters in Saint-Denis de La Réunion and Hyères, reinforces the sense of his vision of identity. In 2007, the city of Saint-Denis de La Réunion entrusted him with the artistic direction of its Saint-Denis Danses festival.
The island is home to the regional conservatory of Réunion, which has four teaching centres and was created in 1987 under the impetus of the then president of the region, Pierre Lagourgue. Today, although traditional dances are not forgotten in the conservatoires (which teach dance, music, and theatre), the dances taught are classical dance, contemporary dance, and Bharata natyam dance. These students regularly have the opportunity to dance with choreographers from Réunion, such as Didier Boutiana cie "Konpani Soul city", Soraya Thomas cie "Morphose" or Éric Languet cie "Danse en l'R". These different local companies allow the inhabitants of Réunion to dance professionally.
Urban culture has also made its appearance, following the trends and influences of metropolitan France and the United States. Thus, hip-hop culture is developing, but also ragga dancehall, with KM David or Kaf Malbar being the figurehead of this new movement, influencing the young generation all over the island, with their songs spread by MP3 or the internet. Many young artists are trying to "break through" in this music, whose industry is developing reasonably well, locally but also internationally, and has nothing to envy from the precursors of French dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...
.
Cuisine
Always accompanied by rice, the most common dishes are carry (sometimes spelled cari), a local version of Indian curry, rougail, and civets (stews). Curry is made with a base of onion, garlic and spices
In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...
such as turmeric (called "safran péi" on the island), on which fish, meat and eggs are fried; tomato is then added. Dishes can also be flavoured with ginger; the peel of a combava is often prized. Chop suey (with rice, not pasta) and other Asian dishes such as pork with pineapple
Some examples of popular réunionese dishes include:
*Achards (inspired by achaar)
*Cabri massalé
*Cari poulet
*Rougail dakatine
*Rougail morue
*Rougail saucisse
*Bouchon
In general, there are few dishes without meat or fish, so there are few vegetarian options. One of them is chouchou chayote gratin. Otherwise, mainly poultry is consumed. One of the local specialties is tangue civet (of the hedgehog family).
Sport
Moringue is a popular combat/dance sport similar to capoeira
Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, capoeira music, music, and spirituality.
It likely originated from enslaved Mbundu people, of the Kingdom of Ndongo, in present-day Angola. The ...
. There are several famous Réunionese sportsmen and women like the handballer Jackson Richardson, as well as the karateka Lucie Ignace. Réunion has several contributions to worldwide professional surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...
. It has been home to notable pro surfers including Jeremy Flores, Johanne Defay, and Justine Mauvin. Famous break St Leu has been host to several world surfing championship competitions. Since 1992, Réunion has hosted several ultramarathons under the umbrella name of the Grand Raid. As of 2018, four different races compose the Grand Raid: the Diagonale des Fous, the Trail de Bourbon, the Mascareignes, and the Zembrocal Trail. Annual athletics ''Meeting de la Réunion'' is held at the Stade Paul Julius Bénard by the governing body ''Ligue Réunionnaise d'athlétisme''.
Football
Football (soccer) is the most popular sport. With more than 30,000 licensed players for a population exceeding 850,000 inhabitants, it remains the sport of choice for young people. Although the highest level of competition, called the First Division of Réunion, is equivalent to a division d'honneur in metropolitan France (DH), all the youngsters hope to play at the highest level one day.
This has been the case for players such as Laurent Robert, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Guillaume Hoarau, Dimitri Payet, Benoit Tremoulinas, Melvine Malard (the only six Reunionese to have played for the French national team), Bertrand Robert, Thomas Fontaine, Ludovic Ajorque, Fabrice Abriel (of Réunion descent) and Wilfried Moimbe (of Réunion descent), to name but a few. The territory has its own team, the Réunion national football team
The Réunion national football team () is the regional team of the French overseas department and region of Réunion and is controlled by the Réunionese Football League, local branch of the French Football Federation. Réunion is not a member of ...
.
Architecture
Structurally, the local Creole house is said to be symmetrical. In fact, in the absence of an architect, workers would draw a line on the ground and build two identical parts on each side, resulting in houses of essentially rectangular shape. The veranda is an important element of the house. It is an outdoor terrace built on the front of the house, as it allows to show its richness to the street. A Creole garden completes the house. It is composed of local plants found in the forest. There is usually a greenhouse with orchids, anthuriums, and different types of ferns.
The Villa Déramond-Barre is a Creole architectural model of great heritage interest.
Media
Broadcasting
Réunion has a local public television channel, Réunion 1ère, which now forms part of France Télévision, and also receives France 2, France 3
France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming.
France 3 is structured as a Region ...
, France 4, France 5, and France 24
France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market.
Based in the Paris suburb ...
from metropolitan France, as well as 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. It was a national counterpart of the ...
, which shows programming from all of the overseas departments and territories. There are also two local private channels, Télé Kréol and Antenne Réunion.
It has a local public radio station, formerly Radio Réunion, but now known as Réunion 1ère, like its television counterpart. It also receives the Radio France
Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster.
Stations
Radio France offers seven national networks:
*France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...
networks France Inter, France Musique and France Culture. The first private local radio station, Radio Freedom, was introduced in 1981. They broadcast daily content about weather and local services.
Newspapers
There were three daily newspapers published locally. In 2024, one closed. Of the remaining two, one is now produced online only. There are otherweekly and monthlypublications in Réunion, including general interest and television magazines.
The dailies:
*'' Journal de l'île de La Réunion'', founded in 1951, it closed in 2024 after being placed into bankruptcy ("judicial liquidation") on July 31.
*', founded 1976
* , founded 1944; online only since 2013
Cinema
Present on the island since 1896, it is marked by its insularity and its geographical distance from metropolitan France
Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
. In the absence of the Centre national de la cinématographie (CNC), it has developed specific distribution and dissemination networks. Its landscapes first served as a natural backdrop for many film and television productions, and film events, such as festivals, multiplied there. Digital technology now facilitates the development of local productions, most of which reflect the particularities of a multicultural and multilingual society.
The Réunion Film festival (festival du film de La Réunion) was created in 2005 and is chaired by Fabienne Redt. The festival presented first and second feature films by French directors. The 10th and last edition took place in 2014 in partnership mainly with the TEAT Champ Fleuri (Saint-Denis) and the city of Saint-Paul.
In the Port, the International Film Festival of Africa and the Réunion Islands (Festival international du film d'Afrique et des îles de La Réunion) was also held.
Among the existing film festivals is the Réunion Island Adventure Film Festival (13 editions), which awards prizes to adventure films.
In Saint-Philippe, the Festival Même pas peur, Réunion's international fantasy film festival, has been held since 2010.
In Saint-Pierre, there are two festivals: Écran Jeunes (25th edition in 2019) and the Festival du Film Court de Saint-Pierre, directed by Armand Dauphin (3rd edition in 2019).
Film
*'' Adama'' (animated there)
*'' Mississippi Mermaid'' (1969) (filmed there)
Blogs
*''Reunion Island Tourism blog'' (English/French tourism blog)
*'' Visit Reunion'' (English language blog and Instagram page)
Internet
The internet situation in Réunion was once marked by its insularity and remoteness from mainland France, which caused some technological delays. Today, the trend has been reversed and the region has a relatively efficient internet connection and is one of the departments most connected by fibre optics in France.
Internet connection can be provided by ADSL (offered by four operators), fibre optic (three operators), or by cellular data on 4G and 5G networks (currently being tested in Saint-Denis).
Réunion domain names have the suffix .re. The Réunion region has deployed a regional fibre-optic network for operators. This network is based partly on EDF's very high voltage
High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant sp ...
cables - G@zelle network, partly on the region's own fibre, and partly on Hertzian links for the most isolated areas. This network is managed by a public service company called La Réunion Numérique.
Economy
In 2019, the GDP of Réunion at market exchange rates, not at PPP, was estimated at 19.5 billion euro
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
s (US$21.8 bn) and the GDP per capita (also at market exchange rates) was 22,629 euro
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
s (US$25,333), the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, but only 61.7% of metropolitan France
Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
's GDP per capita that year, and 73.5% of the metropolitan French regions outside the Paris Region.
Before the 2008 financial crisis
The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, the economy of Réunion was in a process of catching up with the rest of France. From 1997 to 2007, the economy of Réunion grew by an average of +4.6% per year in real terms, and the GDP per capita rose from 53.7% of metropolitan France's level in 2000 to 61.6% of metropolitan France in 2007. The Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009. that followed the 2008 financial crisis
The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
greatly affected Réunion whose economy came to a standstill in 2008, then experienced two years of recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...
in 2009 and 2010, followed by three years of stagnation (2011–2013). By 2013, the GDP per capita of Réunion had fallen back to 60.6% of metropolitan France's level.
Economic growth returned in 2014. The economy grew by an average of +2.9% per year in real terms from 2014 to 2017, and the GDP per capita of Réunion rose to 62.4% of metropolitan France's GDP per capita by 2017, its highest level ever. The economy slowed down in 2018, growing at only +1.7% due in part to the yellow vests protests which paralyzed the Réunionese economy at the end of 2018, before recovering to +2.2% in 2019. As a result of this slower growth since 2018, the GDP per capita of Réunion fell back slightly compared to metropolitan France's, standing at 61.7% of metropolitan France's level in 2019.
Réunion was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in 2020, leading to a massive recession of -4.2% that year according to provisional estimates, the largest on record, although less severe than in metropolitan France (-7.9% for metropolitan France in 2020).
Sugar was traditionally the chief agricultural product and export. Tourism is now an important source of income. The island's remote location combined with its stable political alignment with Europe makes it a key location for satellite receiving stations and naval navigation.
GDP sector composition in 2017 (contribution of each sector to the total gross value added
In economics, gross value added (GVA) is the measure of the value of goods and service (economics), services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy. "The ''gross value added'' is the Value of output (economy), value of output minus t ...
):
Unemployment is a major problem on Réunion, although the situation has improved markedly since the beginning of the 2000s: the unemployment rate, which stood above 30% from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, declined to 24.6% in 2007, then rebounded to 30.0% in 2011 due to the 2008 financial crisis
The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
and subsequent Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009. , but declined again after 2011, reaching 19.0% in 2023, its lowest level in 45 years.
In 2021, 36.1% of the population lived below the poverty line (defined by INSEE as 60% of Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
's median income; in 2021 the poverty line for a family of two parents and two young children was €2,423 (US$2,868) per month), a marked decrease compared to 2013 when 49% of the population lived below the poverty line.
The tertiary sector, particularly the commercial sector, is by far the most developed, and import distribution has taken off in the mid-1980s through affiliation and franchising agreements with metropolitan groups. The advent of franchised distribution has transformed the commercial apparatus, which historically was characterized by the geographic dispersion of small grocery-type units; the few "Chinese stores" still in operation are limited to mid-range towns and, as relics of a bygone era, have more of a tourist and educational appeal, even if they retain a convenience store function.
Rum distillation contributes to the island's economy. A " Product of France", it is shipped to Europe for bottling, then shipped to consumers around the world.
Brasseries de Bourbon is the main brewery of the island, with Heineken as shareholder.
Tourism
Income from tourism is Réunion's primary economic resource, ahead of sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
production and processing, which has allowed the development of large Réunionese groups such as Quartier Français, Groupe Bourbon ex-Sucreries Bourbon, a large international company now listed on the stock exchange
A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...
, but based outside the island and which has abandoned the sugar sector for the off-shore maritime sector. With the reduction of subsidies, this culture is threatened. Therefore, the development of fishing in the French Southern Territories has been promoted.
Agriculture
Agriculture in Réunion is an important activity in the island's economy: the agricultural territory covering 20% of the island's surface area employs 10% of the active population, generates 5% of the gross regional product, and provides the island's main export. Formerly centred on coffee and clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or Aroma compound, fragrance in fin ...
cultivation, it has focused on sugar cane since the events of the early 19th century, namely the Great Avalanches and the seizure of Réunion by the British. Today it faces important issues related to the decisions of the World Trade Organization at the international level and the development of the urban fact at the local level.
Réunion Island has about 7,000 farms, 5,000 of which are professional. These farms mobilize almost 11,000 AWU (annual workload of one person on a full-time basis).
Ninety-seven percent of the farms in Réunion are less than 20 hectares in size, compared to an average of 78 hectares in mainland France.
The most common status is that of an individual farmer (97%).
In 2005, more than 60% of farm managers were between 40 and 59 years old.
Public services
Health
In 2005–2006, Réunion experienced an epidemic of chikungunya, a viral disease similar to dengue fever
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after i ...
brought in from East Africa, which infected almost a third of the population because of its transmission through mosquitoes. The epidemic has since been eradicated. See the History
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
section for more details.
Transport
Roland Garros Airport serves the island, handling flights to mainland France, Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
, Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
, Comoros, Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
, South Africa, China, and Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. Pierrefonds Airport, a smaller airport, has some flights to Mauritius and Madagascar. In 2019, a light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
system was proposed to link Le Barachois with the airport.
Education
Réunion Island has its own education system. Chantal Manès-Bonnisseau, Inspector General of Education, Sport and Research, was appointed Rector of the Académie de La Réunion and Chancellor of Universities at the Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
on 29 July 2020.
She succeeds Vêlayoudom Marimoutou, who took office as secretary general of the Indian Ocean Commission on 16 July.
The Rectorate is located in the main city, in the Moufia district of Saint-Denis. At the start of the 2012 school year, the island had 522 pre-school or primary schools, including 26 private schools, for 120,230 students at the primary level, 82 secondary schools, including six private schools, for 61,300 students, 32 general and technological high schools, including three private schools, for 23,650 students, and 15 vocational schools, including two private schools, for 16,200 students.
Réunion's priority education zones affect slightly more than half of the primary and secondary school students.
Baccalaureate results are relatively close to the national average, with a rate of 81.4% in 2012 compared to 82.4% in 2011 (respectively: 84.5% and 85.6% in the national average).
In higher education, the University of Réunion has 11,600 students spread across the various sites, especially in Saint-Denis and Le Tampon. A further 5,800 students are divided between the post-baccalaureate courses of secondary education and other higher studies.
Energy
Energy on Réunion depends on oil and is limited by the island's insularity, which forces it to produce electricity locally and import fossil fuels
A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologica ...
. Faced with increasing demand and environmental requirements, the energy produced on the island is tending to increasingly exploiting its great renewable energy potential through the development of wind farms, solar farms, and other experimental projects. Although 35% of Réunion's electricity came from renewable sources in 2013, the department's energy dependency rate exceeded 85%. Saving electricity and optimising energy efficiency are two major areas of work for the authorities responsible for energy issues.
Hydroelectric power
Due to the large volumes of rainfall, the flow of surface water allows the installation of hydroelectric infrastructures, especially as erosion has carved out narrow and very deep ravines. The Sainte-Rose plant (22 MW) and the Takamaka plant (17.5 MW) are the two largest. In total, the island's six hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
infrastructures have a capacity of 133 MW.
Symbols
Réunion has no official coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
or flag
A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...
.
Former Governor Merwart created a coat of arms for the island on the occasion of the 1925 colonial exhibition organised on Petite-Île. Merwart, a member of the Réunion Island Society of Sciences and Arts, wanted to include the island's history:
* the bees evoke the Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
;
* the central coat of arms evokes the French Republican flag;
* the fleurs-de-lis evoke the royal era;
* The motto "Florebo quocumque ferar" is that of the French East India Company and means "I will bloom wherever they take me", while the vanilla vines honour a flourishing harvest.
* The Roman numeral
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, ea ...
"MMM" evokes the altitude of the highest peaks;
* The ship Saint-Alexis is the one that first took possession of the island;
The most commonly used flag in Réunion is that of the "radiant volcano", designed by Guy Pignolet in 1975, sometimes called "Lo Mavéli": it represents the volcano of Piton de la Fournaise in the form of a simplified red triangle on a navy blue background, while five sunbeams symbolise the arrival of the populations that have converged on the island over the centuries.
See also
* Administrative divisions of France
The administrative divisions of France are concerned with the institutional and territorial organization of French territory. These territories are located in many parts of the world. There are many administrative divisions, which may have ...
* Alfred Nakache
* Anchaing
* '' Du battant des lames au sommet des montagnes''
* List of colonial and departmental heads of Réunion
* List of French overseas islands
* List of Réunionnais
* Lists of islands
* Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
* Scouting and Guiding in Réunion
Notes
References
Bibliography
* James Rogers and Luis Simón
The Status and Location of the Military Installations of the Member States of the European Union and Their Potential Role for the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
Brussels: European Parliament, 2009. 25 pp.
External links
Government
Departmental Council website
Prefecture website
Regional Council website
General information
Official tourism website
UNESCO World Heritage Site datasheet
*
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1946 establishments in the French colonial empire
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Former colonies in Africa
Former French colonies
France geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
French colonisation in Africa
French East India Company
French-speaking countries and territories
Island countries of the Indian Ocean
Island countries
Islands of Overseas France
Mascarene Islands
Outermost regions of the European Union
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Pirate dens and locations
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