TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin how is French side govt different than dutch side?

The dutch govt condition on St Maarten side made wonder about the less talked about French side. SO, I have a couple of questions for the TTOL island government gurus:

1) What conditions are being made on the French side for help from Paris?

2) is there a French side equivalent Govt? A parliament?, etc?

3) i see the dutch want the marchaussee ( dutch military police/gendarmarie) involved, will that make them more like the French??

4) can the dutch/french police/courts pursue a suspect or investigate a crime on either side of the border? Can someone escape arrest/prosecution simply by hiding out on the other side of the island?

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You are repeating this question, correct? The French side is France. It's as if the country in Europe got hit by hurricane. No difference.
Dutch side is more complicated.
No they cannot "pursue" a suspect without notifying the other side first. But they do cooperate with each other.
It's as if Canada were to "pursue" someone across the border into the US.
Cheers
irina

I Get the France s France part, is there a Prime Minister.William Marlin equivalent? A council, a parliament, any sort of self goverance?

Who will the aidfunnds go to for handing out? Does someone in Paris want an integrity board or do they think highly enough of whatever officials are on the ground?.

We spend most of our time on the French side and aside from the Gendarmarie trucks and station, i dont recall encountering anything governmental.

From 2007, Saint Martin is an overseas collectivitie of France. Before then, it had been a part - a commune - of Guadeloupe - Guadeloupe being a Department of France. July 2007 had first election of 23 member territorial council - 7 of which are executive council. Council elects a President - now Daniel Gibbs whose political party has strong control. The collectivite has autonomy in various areas.

Sint Maarten is part of Kingdom of the Netherlands - Saint Martin is part of France. Saint Martin is more integrated into France than Sint Maarten is integrated into the Netherlands (the Netherlands being one country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands - but the one country which can call the shots if it wants). The two sides have similar autonomy in many respects.

Whether Paris trusts the Collectivite more than the Hague trusts Country Sint Maarten is for anyone to decide.

If you go to radiostmartin.com monday thru friday 101.5 most days between 12 & 1 you will often hear Gus interviewing the french collectivite politicians.

At present, Paris has more control over the Collectivité than the Hague has over Country St Maarten.

On the French side, there is also the Prefet (Prefect), who is an appointed French Government official. Some power and control still flows through the Prefet.

The French side also has Gendarmes, French Military Police with the responsibility for civil law enforcement. (The Marechausees are a similar Dutch force.) Gendarmes rotate in and out of the island periodically, just as many military units rotate through various posts.

So far, I've only seen the number of €62M in French recovery aid for St Martin. St Maarten may receive 8 or 9 times as much - if they can get their act together.

140M Euros to be exact

Thanks all for the replies and education, very informative.

That is the EU contribution. I believe they are getting additional support directly from their national government.

Yes. I believe 140M euros is the EU contribution, apart from the French government. I suspect you won't see a battle between Saint-Martin and France, because Saint-Martin is just as much a part of France as is Paris. French government is very top-down. So, while Saint-Martin has some limited autonomy (like an American county), it has it by the grace of Paris.

In contrast, it is my understanding that St. Maarten is essentially independent, but shares a royal family with the Netherlands. It is kind of like Barbados, which shares Queen Elizabeth with the UK, but has its own, sovereign parliament and prime minister. So, the Netherlands needs to seek an agreement with St. Maarten's government as a condition for its aid -- if the Netherlands wants to set such conditions.

Because Saint-Martin is part of France, aid will necessarily be different, and simply becomes a national budgeting issue. I saw an article that France has already spent 160 million euros on Irma (perhaps in conjunction with St. Barth). A notable feature of the French approach regards insurance. France formally declared Irma a natural catastrophe. It is my understanding that this means that if there is property insurance, the French government will act as a reinsurer and cover both wind damage (which is typically insured) AND water damage (which typically is not). The estimated cost of that is 830 million euros. I bet the folks in Houston would like a similar system....

Saint-Martin is an overseas territory and it is not part of France in the same manner as mainland departments.

Sint Maarten is not like Barbados - Barbados became independent in 1966. Yes, Queen Elizabeth II is head of state - the monarch - but her role is ceremonial and all she could do - if she wanted to do anything - is give her opinion through a governor who serves at pleasure of the Prime Minister. Sint Maarten is one of four countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands - the four countries are the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten. In theory the four countries are equal partners - in practice, the Netherlands can control what it wants to control through the Kingdom government.

I hope that your comments about insurance and aid are more accurate than about political matters.

This might provide some of the information you are looking for:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_France

Snorkeler,

I said "kind of like" Barbados. Sint Maarten is self-governing (like Barbados) and has full autonomy other than for "Kingdom Affairs," which are: (1) defense; (2) foreign relations; (3) nationality; (4) orders of chivalry, the flag and the coat of arms of the Kingdom; (5) the nationality of vessels and the standards required for the safety and navigation of seagoing vessels flying the flag of the Kingdom, (6) admission and expulsion of Netherlands nationals; and (7) the admission and expulsion of aliens, including extradition.

And Saint-Martin's status as an overseas collectivity does not make it not a part of France. Overseas collectivities are "integral parts of France, ... are represented in the National Assembly, Senate and Economic and Social Council. Only one COM, Saint Martin, is part of the European Union and can vote to elect members of the European Parliament (MEPs)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_collectivity

I just saw the latest aid figures for France. Direct French government aid has been 370 million Euros, and government backed reinsured property claims are 990 million Euros, of which 660 million Euros have now been accepted, with the remainder still pending determination.

The French side has frog legs on the menu.
The Dutch side has oxtail soup.
Frog legs were used in biology class when I was in school.
I still have never tried either.

Trying to stay more on topic...

1) What conditions are being made on the French side for help from Paris?
Both sides are receiving financial help.
2) is there a French side equivalent Govt? A parliament?, etc?
IDK but the French side is more dependent on France in most matters.
3) i see the dutch want the marchaussee ( dutch military police/gendarmarie) involved, will that make them more like the French??
Both are similar but the French allow more involvement in enforcing laws.
4) can the dutch/french police/courts pursue a suspect or investigate a crime on either side of the border? Can someone escape arrest/prosecution simply by hiding out on the other side of the island?
No! The perps will be caught and can not escape the law by crossing the border.