Politics of Martinique

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Martinique is an overseas Territorial collectivity of France, with the same political status as regions and departments in mainland France. The administrative centre of Martinique is located in Fort-de-France.

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During the referendum of 24 January 2010, the residents of Martinique approved by 68.4% the creation of a new and unique territorial collectivity which is governed by the section 73 of the French Constitution. The territorial collectivity of Martinique replaces and exercises all the related power and duties of the department's General Council and the Regional Council.

Gran Sanblé pou ba peyi an chans, a coalition of the Martinican Independence Movement and right-wing parties, led by Alfred Marie-Jeanne defeated Ensemble pour une Martinique Nouvelle  [ fr ], a coalition of left-wing parties, led by Serge Letchimy, winning 33 seats out of 51 seats of the new Territorial Collectivity's assembly during the election held on December 13, 2015 in Martinique. [1]

On December 18, 2015 Alfred Marie-Jeanne was elected the first president of the Executive Council of the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique. [2]

Assembly of Martinique

The Assembly of the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique is composed of 51 members elected by proportional representation in two rounds with each list having an equal number of male and female candidates. The term of the Assembly is 6 years. The current president of the assembly is Claude Lise. [3]

Partyseats
Gran Sanblé pou pa peyi an chans33
Ensemble pour une Martinique Nouvelle18

General Council of Martinique

The General Council of Martinique was composed of 45 seats whose members were elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms. The last President of the General Council was Josette Manin.

Composition
Partyseats
Miscellaneous Left21
Martinican Progressive Party 10
Miscellaneous Right4
Union for a Popular Movement 3
Other regionalists3
Martinican Independence Movement 2
Socialist Party 2

Regional Council of Martinique

The Regional Council was composed of 41 seats whose members were elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms. The last President of the Regional Council was Serge Letchimy.

Composition
Partyseats
Martinican Independence Movement 28
Martinican Progressive Party 9
UDF (FMP) 4

Parliamentary representation

Notable representatives may be found in Category:Martiniquais politicians

French Senate, 2 seats

Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; indirect elections were last held in September 2004. The Martinican Progressive Party won 1 senator and one other left-wing candidate was elected.

French National Assembly, 4 seats

Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly, the last elections were held in June 2007. The Union for a Popular Movement elected 1 deputy (Alfred Almont), the Socialist Party elected 1 (Louis-Joseph Manscour), the nationalist Martinican Independence Movement elected 1 (Alfred Marie-Jeanne), and the Martinican Progressive Party also elected 1 (Serge Letchimy, mayor of Fort de France).

Current Deputies
ConstituencyMemberParty
1st Louis-Joseph Manscour PS
2nd Alfred Almont UMP
3rd Serge Letchimy PPM
4th Alfred Marie-Jeanne MIM

Judicial system

In Martinique, the French system of justice is in force with there being two lower courts ( tribunaux d’instance ), one higher court (tribunal de grande instance), one administrative court, a commercial court, and a court of appeal at Fort-de-France. [4] [5]

With regard to the legal profession, it is known that women have been practicing law since 1945 when Andrée Pierre-Rose Bocaly became an attorney. She would be followed by Marcelle Yang-ting, Marie-Thérèse Yoyo-Likao, and Marie-Alice André-Jaccoulet (1969) in sequence.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martinican Independence Movement</span> Political party in Martinique

The Martinican Independence Movement or MIM is a left-wing political party in the overseas department of Martinique, founded July 1, 1978 by Alfred Marie-Jeanne with the aim of securing "the decolonization and independence of Martinique". Its secretary is the deputy and president of the Regional Council of Martinique. It has one seat in the French National Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Martinique</span> Flag

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Alfred Marie-Jeanne is a French politician, a leader in the Martinican Independence Movement (MIM) since 1978. He served as mayor of the commune of Rivière-Pilote from 1971 to 2000 and served as President of the Regional Council of Martinique from March 20, 1998, to March 22, 2010. Alfred Marie-Jeanne represented Martinique's 1st constituency in the French National Assembly from 2012 to 2017. He was succeeded in this constituency by Josette Manin.

The Martinican Progressive Party is a democratic socialist political party in Martinique. It was founded on March 22, 1958 by poet Aimé Césaire after breaking off from the French Communist Party. The party favours the autonomy of Martinique within France, unlike the nationalist Martinican Independence Movement (MIM). The party has one seat in the French National Assembly, currently held by Serge Letchimy, deputy from Fort-de-France.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serge Letchimy</span> French politician

Serge Letchimy is the President of the Executive Council of Martinique and former member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the island of Martinique's 3rd constituency since June 2007, and is a member of The Socialists and affiliated parliamentary group. Letchimy is a member of the Martinican Progressive Party (PPM), or Parti progressiste martiniquais. He was the successor of Aimé Césaire as Mayor of Fort de France from 2001 to 2010 and was the final President of the Regional Council of Martinique from 26 March 2010 until its replacement by the Assembly of Martinique in December 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Martinique-related articles</span>

Articles related to the French overseas department of Martinique include:

The Martinican Democratic Rally is a Martinican political party founded on March 26, 2006 by Claude Lise, Senator and President of the General Council. Lise was a member of the Martinican Progressive Party. The party favors the autonomy of Martinique within France, unlike the nationalist MIM. The party has one seat in the European Parliament, Madeleine de Grandmaison. It also has 9 seats in the general council and 3 in the regional council.

Indo-Martiniquais are an ethnic group of Martinique, compromising approximately 10% of the population of the island. The Indo-Martiniquais are descendants of indentured labourers of the nineteenth century from India of primarily Tamil and Telugu descent as well as other Indian peoples. They are primarily most concentrated in the northern communes of Martinique, where the main plantations are located. The Indo-Martiniquais speak Antillean a French-based creole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martinique's 3rd constituency</span> Constituency of the French Fifth Republic

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional Council of Martinique</span>

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Josette Manin is a French politician on the island of Martinique. She was the last President of the General Council of Martinique, from 31 March 2011 to 31 December 2015, and was the representative of Martinique's 1st constituency in the National Assembly from 2017 to 2022. She was the first woman to be elected President of the General Council and as a deputy for Martinique in the French National Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assembly of Martinique</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 French regional elections</span> Most recent regional elections in France

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Jane Marie Apolinaire Léro was a feminist and communist activist from Martinique.

References

  1. "La liste d'Alfred Marie-Jeanne remporte les élections territoriales 2015" (in French). 14 December 2016.
  2. "Alfred Marie-Jeanne : " je serai le président de tous les Martiniquais "" (in French). 18 December 2015.
  3. "CTM : Claude Lise élu président de l'Assemblée, les 4 vice-présidents connus" (in French). 18 December 2016.
  4. "Martinique | Island". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  5. Newman, Graeme R. (2010-10-19). Crime and Punishment around the World [4 volumes]: [Four Volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN   9780313351341.