Weak link – The situation in overseas territories is underestimated according to several elected officials who are warning about the current crises in Martinique, New Caledonia and Mayotte
It is time to act. The next Minister for Overseas Territories in Michel Barnier’s government will be the seventh in nearly 30 months. Also, elected officials from these territories often undermined by unemployment and inflation are calling for a minister who is up to the task.
Since 2017 and the accession of Emmanuel Macron, six Overseas Ministers have succeeded one another in managing the French overseas departments and communities and their approximately 2.8 million inhabitants.
“The unique emergency” of overseas island territories
The next tenant of Rue Oudinot, the current one, Marie Guévenoux, has been in office since February, could be known next week if Prime Minister Michel Barnier, appointed on September 5, sticks to the announced schedule.
“Mr. Prime Minister, in the past, you have had the opportunity to say that “overseas territories, this beating heart of France” deserves special attention,” the PS-affiliated MP from Guadeloupe, Élie Califer, calls out in a letter dated September 9. He warns of the “singular urgency” of the island overseas territories, which are often isolated and affected by a questioning of France’s supervision.
This “beating heart”, which is home to “80% of biodiversity(…) - 20minutes
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