Date format dd/mm/yyyy (AD) Currencies Euro, CFP franc | Currency EuroCFP Franc Area 551,394 km² | |
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Languages French, Antillean Creole, Guianese Creole, Reunionese Creole, Shimaore, Tahitian, Marquesan, 'Uvean, Futunan, Drehu, Nengone, Paicî, Ajië, Xârâcùù, and 35 other native languages of New Caledonia Territories 5 departments/regions8 territoriesGuadeloupeMartiniqueFrench GuianaRéunionMayotteSaint MartinSaint BarthélemySaint Pierre and MiquelonNew CaledoniaWallis and FutunaFrench PolynesiaClippertonFrench Southern and Antarctic Lands |
Overseas France (French: France d'outre-mer) consists of all the French-administered territories outside of the European continent. These territories have varying legal status and different levels of autonomy, although all (except those with no permanent inhabitants) have representation in both France's National Assembly and Senate, which together make up the French Parliament. Their citizens have French nationality and vote for the president of France. They have the right to vote in elections to the European Parliament (French citizens living overseas currently vote in the Overseas constituency). Overseas France includes island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, French Guiana on the South American continent, and several Periantarctic Islands as well as a claim in Antarctica.
Contents
- Overseas regions
- Overseas collectivities
- Overseas territories
- Special status
- Political representation in the French Parliament
- Representation in the National Assembly
- Representation in the Senate
- Inhabited departments and collectivities
- Uninhabited overseas territories
- Largest cities in overseas France
- References
From a legal and administrative standpoint, overseas regions are very different from overseas collectivities. Overseas regions have exactly the same status as mainland France's regions. The French constitution provides that, in general, French laws and regulations (France's civil code, penal code, administrative law, social laws, tax laws, etc.) apply to French overseas regions the same as in mainland France, but can be adapted as needed to suit the region's particular needs. In the French overseas regions, laws cannot be adapted whereas the overseas collectivities are empowered to make their own laws, except in certain areas (such as defense, international relations, trade and currency, and judicial and administrative law). The overseas collectivities are governed by local elected assemblies and by the French Parliament and French government (where a cabinet member, the Minister of Overseas France, is in charge of issues related to the overseas territories).
Overseas France has an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 9,821,231 km² (3,791,998 sq. miles), and account for 17.8% of the land territory and 96.7% of the EEZ of the French Republic (excluding the district of Adélie Land, part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, where the French sovereignty is effective de jure by French law, but where the French exclusive claim on this part of Antarctica is frozen by a mandatory international cooperation since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959).
Overseas regions
Overseas collectivities
The category of "overseas collectivity" was created by France's constitutional reform of March 28, 2003. Each overseas collectivity has its own statutory laws.
Overseas territories
Special status
Political representation in the French Parliament
With 2,691,000 inhabitants in 2013, Overseas France account for 4.1% of the population of the French Republic. They enjoy a corresponding representation in the two chambers of the French Parliament.
Representation in the National Assembly
In the 13th Legislature (2012-2017), Overseas France is represented by 27 députés (M.P.s) in the French National Assembly, accounting for 4.7% of the 577 députés in the National Assembly:
Representation in the Senate
Since September 2011, Overseas France is represented by 21 senators in the French Senate, accounting for 6.0% of the 343 senators in the Senate:
Inhabited departments and collectivities
The 11 French overseas territories are :
Uninhabited overseas territories
(Lands generally uninhabited, except by researchers in scientific stations)
Largest cities in overseas France
Ranked by population in the urban area: