Guadeloupe is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the two inhabited Îles des Saintes—as well as many uninhabited islands and outcroppings. It is south of Antigua and Barbuda and Montserrat and north of the Commonwealth of Dominica. The region's capital city is Basse-Terre, located on the southern west coast of Basse-Terre Island; however, the most populous city is Les Abymes and the main centre of business is neighbouring Pointe-à-Pitre, both located on Grande-Terre Island. It had a population of 384,239 in 2019.
France is divided into eighteen administrative regions, of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France, while the other five are overseas regions.
Basse-Terre is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the prefecture of Guadeloupe. The city of Basse-Terre is located on Basse-Terre Island, the western half of Guadeloupe.
The overseas departments and regions of France are departments of the French Republic which are outside the continental Europe situated portion of France, known as "metropolitan France". The distant parts have exactly the same status as mainland France's regions and departments. The French Constitution provides that, in general, French laws and regulations apply to French overseas regions the same as in metropolitan France, but can be adapted as needed to suit the region's particular needs. Hence, the local administrations of French overseas regions cannot themselves pass new laws. On occasion referendums are undertaken to re-assess the sentiment in local status.
Lucette Michaux-Chevry was a French politician, who served as President of the Regional Council of the overseas department of Guadeloupe between 1992 and 2004. She was nicknamed the "Iron Lady of the Caribbean." because she was "for a long time the strong woman of the department."
Claude Gillot was a French painter, print-maker, and illustrator, best known as the master of Watteau and Lancret.
The French overseas collectivities are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies and other French overseas entities with a particular status, all of which became COMs by constitutional reform on 28 March 2003. The COMs differ from overseas regions and overseas departments, which have the same status as metropolitan France but are located outside Europe. As integral parts of France, overseas collectivities are represented in the National Assembly, Senate and Economic and Social Council. Though some are outside the European Union, all can vote to elect members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The Pacific COMs use the CFP franc, a currency pegged to the euro, whereas the Atlantic COMs use the euro itself. As of 31 March 2011, there were five COMs:
Le Gosier is a commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is located on the south side of the island of Grande-Terre and part of the urban unit of Pointe-à-Pitre-Les Abymes, the largest conurbation in Guadeloupe.
Les Abymes is the most populous commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is located on the west side of the island of Grande-Terre, and is part of the largest metropolitan area of Guadeloupe, which also covers Pointe-à-Pitre.
The Collectivity of Saint Martin, commonly known as simply Saint Martin, is an overseas collectivity of France in the West Indies in the Caribbean, on the northern half of the island of Saint Martin, as well as some smaller adjacent islands. Saint Martin is separated from the island of Anguilla by the Anguilla Channel. Its capital is Marigot.
The Progressive Democratic Party of Guadeloupe is a democratic socialist political party in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe. It was founded by former members of the Guadeloupe Communist Party in 1991, following the fall of communism.
The 2009 French Caribbean general strikes began in the French overseas region of Guadeloupe on 20 January 2009, and spread to neighbouring Martinique on 5 February 2009. Both islands are located in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. The general strikes began over the cost of living, the prices of basic commodities, including fuel and food, and demands for an increase in the monthly salaries of low income workers.
Overseas France consists of 13 French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonization. Some, but not all, are part of the European Union. "Overseas France" is a collective name; while used in everyday life in France, it is not an administrative designation in its own right. Instead, the five overseas regions have exactly the same administrative status as the metropolitan regions; the five overseas collectivities are semi-autonomous; and New Caledonia is an autonomous territory. Overseas France includes island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, French Guiana on the South American continent, and several peri-Antarctic islands as well as a claim in Antarctica. Excluding the district of Adélie Land, where French sovereignty is effective de jure by French law, but where the French exclusive claim on this part of Antarctica is frozen by the Antarctic Treaty, overseas France covers a land area of 120,396 km2 (46,485 sq mi) and accounts for 18.0% of the French Republic's land territory. Its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 9,825,538 km2 (3,793,661 sq mi) accounts for 96.7% of the EEZ of the French Republic.
Jacques Cornano is a French politician who was elected to the French Senate on 25 September 2011, representing the Department of Guadeloupe.
Guillaume Arnell is a member of the Senate of France. He was first elected in 2014, and represents the Saint-Martin Overseas Collectivity. An administrator by profession, he serves as a member of the Rassemblement Responsabilite Reussite (RRR). He has been vice president of the Territorial Council of Saint-Martin since 2012.
Joseph Gustave Desmazes was a French naval commissioner who was Senator of Martinique from 1876 to 1882.
Pierre Alexandre Ildefonse Isaac was a French lawyer who was a left-leaning Senator of Guadeloupe from 1885 until his death in 1899. He was of mixed African and European ancestry. He was particularly involved in colonial issues, always seeking administration based on justice and humanity. He was one of founding members of the Human Rights League in France.
Adolphe Marie Dieudonné Cicéron was a French notary who was Senator of Guadeloupe from 1900 to 1912.
Jacques Adélaïde-Merlande is a French historian, born on 1 June 1933 in Fort-de-France, Martinique. A former lecturer at the University of the West Indies and Guyana, of which he was president from 1972 to 1977, he is the current president of the Guadeloupe Historical Society.
Annick Danièle Petrus is a French Saint Martinois educator and politician. She has served as the Senator for the Collectivity of Saint Martin since October 2020 as a member of the Union for Democracy and The Republicans (LR) parties. Petrus is the first woman to represent Saint Martin's lone seat in the French Senate. Additionally, she has served in the Territorial Council of Saint Martin since 2017.
