Saint-Pierre () is the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the French ''collectivité d'outre-mer'' (territory) of

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon ( ), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, located near the Canada, Canadian prov ...

, off the coast of the

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

island of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. Saint-Pierre is the more populous of the two ''communes'' (municipalities) making up Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

Etymology

The commune is named after

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

, who is one of the patron saints of fishermen.

Geography

The commune of Saint-Pierre is made up of the island of Saint Pierre proper and several nearby smaller islands, such as L'Île-aux-Marins. Although containing nearly 90% of the inhabitants of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the commune of Saint-Pierre is considerably smaller in terms of area than the commune of Miquelon-Langlade, which lies to its northwest on

Miquelon Island Miquelon-Langlade () is the larger but less populated of the two communes (municipalities) making up the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, located to the south of Newfoundland in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It consists ...

. The main settlement and communal seat is situated on the north side of a harbour called ''Barachois'', which faces the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, on the Saint-Pierre Island's east coast. The mouth of the harbour is guarded by a small chain of islands.

History

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...

claimed the islands for France in 1536, after they were discovered by the Portuguese in 1520. At the end of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

in 1763, the islands were turned over to Britain; it was given back to France in 1816. Saint-Pierre was an outpost used to transport alcohol from Canada to the United States during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

. Until 1945, there existed a third commune in

: L'Île-aux-Marins. The commune of L'Île-aux-Marins was annexed by the commune of Saint-Pierre in 1945.

Demographics

The population of Saint-Pierre in 2022 was 5,223; many of them are of

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

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

descent. All inhabitants in the commune live on the island of Saint-Pierre proper.

Government

The commune is led by a mayor and a council. The current mayor, elected in 2020, is Yannick Cambray.

Landmarks

Close to the centre of the harbour's edge lie the Post office and Custom House (staffed by

Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes The Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes (), commonly known as ''les douanes'' (Customs), is the customs service of the French Republic. It is responsible for levying indirect taxes, preventing smuggling, surveilling borders and inve ...

), behind which is General Charles de Gaulle Square, the town's centre. Other prominent landmarks include the St. Pierre Cathedral, to the north of the square, rebuilt from 1905 to 1907 after a major fire, and the Pointe aux Canons Lighthouse, at the mouth of the harbour. Further north, close to the town's former hospital, is the Fronton

Zazpiak Bat Zazpiak Bat is a heraldic nickname for the Basque coat of arms which includes the arms of the seven Basque provinces, stressing their unity. It was designed by the historian Jean de Jaurgain in 1897 for the ''Congrès et Fêtes de la Tradition ...

- an arena for the traditional Basque sport of pelota. File:Place du General de Gaulle square, St Pierre.JPG, General Charles de Gaulle Square File:Cathedral in St Pierre.JPG, The Cathedral in Saint-Pierre File:Cannons that Defended the Harbour Against The English.JPG, Pointe aux Canons Lighthouse in Saint Pierre File:Arena For That Basque Game St Pierre.JPG, Fronton Zazpiak Bat arena in Saint-Pierre

Services

The François Dunan Hospital Centre (opened in 2011) is the only hospital in Saint Pierre and Miquelon. There is an attached senior home offering health services at the Maison de retraite Eglantine. Additionally, there is a municipal library, opened in the 1970s, and a municipal sailing school, opened in 1986.

Transportation

Saint-Pierre Pointe-Blanche Airport, the international airport of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, is located south of the settlement of Saint-Pierre and is served by

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

with flights both to Miquelon Airport, five

airports and seasonal service to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. SPM Ferries provides ferry connections with

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

; the port in Miquelon town; and a quay at La Colo on Langlade. BPE runs a ferry between Saint-Pierre town and Île aux Marins. Transport around the island itself is either by private car, or by taxi, cars with drivers for hire, or car or bike rental. There are no public buses or railways on Saint Pierre.

Radio and television

* Saint Pierre and Miquelon ''La Première'' (formerly RFO Saint Pierre and Miquelon) * Radio Atlantique

Education

Public primary schools in the commune: * École maternelle Île aux Enfants * École maternelle Henriette Bonin * École élémentaire du Feu-Rouge - As of 2016 it had 172 students. It is in the downtown area of the commune and is one

nautical cable A nautical cable is a band of tightly woven and clamped ropes, of a defined cable length, used during the age of sail for deep water anchoring, heavy lifting, ship to ship transfers and towing during blue sea sailing and other uses. Waterproof ...

from the Île aux Enfants nursery. Lycée-Collège d'État Émile Letournel is the public secondary school in the commune, with junior high, vocational high, and general senior high/sixth-form programmes. Private schools: * École maternelle Saint-Louis de Gonzague * École élémentaire Sainte-Croisine * École primaire Sainte-Odile * Collège Saint-Christophe

Twin towns

Saint-Pierre has been twinned with

Port-en-Bessin-Huppain Port-en-Bessin-Huppain () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. The commune contains the two towns of Port-en-Bessin and Huppain. Population History The name ''Huppain'' stems from Norse/ ...

(

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 ...

) since 1976.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre And Miquelon Communes of Saint Pierre and Miquelon Capitals in North America