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St. Martin (France)

Collectivity of Saint Martin
Collectivité de Saint-Martin  (French)
Anthem: La Marseillaise
Territorial song: O Sweet Saint Martin's Land
Location of the Collectivity of St Martin in the Leeward Islands.
Location of the Collectivity of St Martin in the Leeward Islands.
Location of the Collectivity of Saint Martin
Status Overseas collectivity
Capital
and largest city
Marigot
Official languages French
Ethnic groups ()
Demonym St. Martinois
Sovereign state France
Government Dependent territory
Emmanuel Macron
• Prefect
Anne Laubies
• President of the
Territorial Council
Daniel Gibbs
Overseas collectivity of France
• Divided between France and Netherlands
23 March 1648
• Separate collectivity
15 July 2007
Area
• Total
53.2 km2 (20.5 sq mi) (unranked)
• Water (%)
negligible
Population
• Jan. 2011 census
36,286 (unranked)
• Density
682/km2 (1,766.4/sq mi) (unranked)
Currency Euro () (EUR)
Time zone (UTC-4)
Calling code +590c
ISO 3166 code MF
Internet TLD
  1. French East Asians.
  2. Assigned but not in use.
  3. Shared with Guadeloupe and Saint Barthélemy.

Saint Martin (French: Saint-Martin), officially the Collectivity of Saint Martin (Collectivité de Saint-Martin) is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. With a population of 36,286 (as of Jan. 2011) on an area of 53.2 square kilometres (20.5 sq mi), it encompasses the northern 60% of the divided island of Saint Martin, and some neighbouring islets, the largest of which is Île Tintamarre. The southern 40% of the island of Saint Martin constitutes Sint Maarten, since 2010 a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Before 2007, the French part of Saint Martin formed a part of the French overseas région and département of Guadeloupe. Saint Martin is separated from the island of Anguilla by the Anguilla Channel. Its capital is Marigot.

Hurricane Irma hit the island on 6 and 7 September 2017 with Category 5 winds which caused widespread and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure. As of 10 September, reports indicated that ten deaths were attributed to the storm on this island and on Saint Barthelemy (combined) and that seven people were still missing.

Saint Martin was for many years a French commune, forming part of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas région and département of France. In 2003 the population of the French part of the island voted in favour of secession from Guadeloupe in order to form a separate overseas collectivity (COM) of France. On 9 February 2007, the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both the French part of Saint Martin and (separately) the neighbouring Saint Barthélemy. The new status took effect on 15 July 2007, once the local assemblies were elected, with the second leg of the vote ultimately occurring on 15 July 2007. Saint Martin remains part of the European Union.


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Wikipedia

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