Saint-Pierre is the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of the French

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

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

, off the coast of the

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

island of

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

. Saint-Pierre is the more populous of the two

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

(municipalities) making up Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

Etymology

The commune is named after

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

, 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 L'Île-aux-Marins (literally "The Island of the Sailors"; before 1931 called ''Île-aux-Chiens'', literally "Island of the Dogs") is a small uninhabited island located off the coast of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. History L'Île-aux-Marins was se ...

. 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 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 of t ...

, which lies to its northwest on

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

. 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 oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, 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 ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French-Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of th ...

claimed the islands for France in 1536, after they were discovered by the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

in 1520. At the end of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

in 1763, the islands were turned over to Britain, only to be 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 ...

. Until 1945, there existed a third

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

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

Demographics

The population of Saint-Pierre in 2019 was 5,394, many of whom 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 **Ga ...

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 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

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. Winter in saint-pierre, road

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 (french: Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, DGDDI), commonly known as ''les douanes'' (Customs), is the customs service of the French Republic. It is responsible for levying i ...

), 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 provinces mentioned, 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 Pelota (Spanish for ''ball'') can refer to the popular and shortened names for a number of ball games: * Basque pelota * Chaza * Jai alai * Mesoamerican ballgame * Palla * Pelota mixteca * Valencian pilota * Frontenis * Pétanque Pétanqu ...

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

, 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 and to Canada. Its main base ...

with flights both to

Miquelon Airport Miquelon Airport (french: Aéroport de Miquelon) is a regional airport on Miquelon Island that the commune (municipality) of Miquelon-Langlade, in the French overseas community (''collectivité d'outre-mer'') of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, off ...

, five

airports and seasonal service to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Radio and television

CBC/Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

* Radio Atlantique * Radio France Outremer

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 l ...

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/N ...

(

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

) since 1976.

References

External links

Official website

Tourism and Travel Resources for St Pierre & Miquelon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre And Miquelon Communes of Saint Pierre and Miquelon Capitals in North America