Overseas collectivity

The French overseas collectivities (French: collectivités d'outre-mer or COM), like the French regions are first-order administrative divisions of France. The COMs include some former French overseas territories and other French overseas entities with a particular status, all of which became COMs by constitutional reform on 28 March 2003.

As of 31 March 2011, there were five COMs:

• French Polynesia became a COM in 2003. Its statutory law of 27 February 2004 gives it the designation of Overseas country inside the Republic (French: pays d'outre-mer au sein de la République, or POM), but without legal modification of its status. French Polynesia has a great degree of autonomy, two symbolic manifestations of which are the title of the President of French Polynesia (Le président de la Polynésie française) and its additional designation as a pays d'outre-mer. Legislature: Assembly of French Polynesia.
• Saint Barthélemy, an island in the Lesser Antilles.
• Saint Martin, the northern part of the island of Saint Martin in the Lesser Antilles.
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. It has a territorial council.
• Wallis and Futuna, three small islands in the Pacific Ocean and the only inhabited part of France that is not divided into communes.

Mayotte was a COM from 1976 until 2011, when it became a DOM.^[1]

See also

• Administrative divisions of France
• Mahoran status referendum, 2009
• Outremer
• Overseas departments and territories of France

References

1. ^ Benoît Hopquin (2011-03-31). "Mayotte accède à son statut de département dans la confusion". Le Monde. http://www.lemonde.fr/imprimer/article/2011/03/31/1501415.html. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 

External links

• (French) Official site
• (French) past and current developments of France's overseas administrative divisions like collectivités d'outre-mer