74% of Martinicans feel “proud” to be European. This is what the exclusive Ifop survey reveals for West France, published this Thursday, May 9, 2024. It must be said that Europe catches up with the visitor as soon as they set foot on Martinique soil. The extension of Aimé-Césaire airport, delivered in 2024, thus benefited from 19 million euros in European funds.
The first public transport accessible on foot a few dozen meters from the exit, Transport en Commun en Site Propre (TCSP), which has linked Lamentin airport to Fort-de-France since 2018, required an investment of 395 million euros, including 87.6 million from European funds. Europe is everywhere. 15 minutes of “high level of service” bus journey later, the expansion of the port or the brand new Schoelcher high school would not have been possible without Europe either.
A feeling of distance
Concrete, palpable realities in this Caribbean territory but which often contrast with a feeling of distance. The latest participation rates in the 2019 European elections speak for themselves: almost 85% abstention in Martinique. And this, despite an envelope of 783 million euros injected into the Martinique economy, under the 2014-2020 European program.
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Fred-Michel Tirault, mayor of Saint-Esprit, a town of around 10,000 inhabitants, recognizes that “the institution deserves to be better known by the general public, given the impact it has on our daily lives: major projects, legislation, international positioning.”
Two concrete examples within its purview: the recent restoration of the Town Hall or the reconstruction project of the municipal hospital. He agrees: “European funds complement the financing plans for our major products favorably. Not a single major project is done without European funds. »
“Sometimes it’s easier to be heard in Brussels”
Charles Larcher, president of the Martinique Association for the Promotion of Industry (AMPI) and Coderum, the rum industry group, is a convinced European. “The economic power of the Regions is very much linked to Europe, it takes into account territories and specificities, much more than the State, which is very centralizing. Europe comes to counterbalance. It is sometimes easier to be heard in Brussels (than in Paris). »
The status of Outermost Region (OR), territories geographically distant from the European continent, allows various aids: cohesion funds for businesses, FEDER funds (European Regional Development Funds) or EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for rural development), notably.
“This is essential for the competitiveness of our businesses. There is investment aid but also compensation schemes for additional production costs. Without Europe, we would undoubtedly have a much more difficult time developing our industry. »
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Erasmus “breaks the isolation on our islands”
For Yveline Patron, vocational high school teacher and representative for European and international action, Europe is above all an opportunity for emancipation for its most difficult students. Since 2016, she has piloted Erasmus projects, as part of professional training periods (PFMP) abroad or partnerships.
“Many students have never left the island. Without Erasmus, they would not have been able to leave given the cost of the tickets. It’s a way to fight against school dropouts, to revitalize them by confronting them with other cultures, with other ways of solving problems. This breaks the isolation on our islands and gives meaning to Europe.”
Estéfany Jean-Mary, a young 25-year-old student, took advantage of Erasmus mobility last year in Gran Canaria, a Spanish island. “I was surprised by the differences between the French and Spanish system but also by the prices for traveling in Europe. While in Martinique, I told myself that it was cold in Europe, that people were unhappy, in reality, they are fine. You can travel cheaply. Today, thanks to Erasmus, I have contacts all over Europe, in Italy, in Spain. Being able to discover different countries is an asset. »
