French overseas collectivities
type of French territorial collectivity, used for several overseas islands or archipelagos
The Overseas collectivities (French: collectivité d'outre-mer or COM), are an administrative division of France. These territories include some former overseas territories and other French overseas holdings with a particular status. All of these were given the name collectivités d'outre-mer because of a constitutional reform on March 28, 2003.
As of March 31, 2011, there are five of these communities:
- French Polynesia, with 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 the territory's additional designation as a pays d'outre-mer. Legislature: Assembly of French Polynesia.
- Saint-Barthélemy
- Saint-Martin
- Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, which has a Territorial Council.
- Wallis and Futuna in the Pacific Ocean, which is the only inhabited part of France that is not divided into communes.
Other websites
change- Official site Archived 2005-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
- past and current developments of France's overseas administrative divisions like collectivité d'outre-mer (French language) Archived 2006-09-29 at the Wayback Machine