President Louis Mussington (left), Senator Annick Pétrus (centre, right) and Député for St. Martin and St. Barths Frantz Gumbs (right) with President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron (centre, left).
MARIGOT/PARIS--President of the Collectivité Louis Mussington was one of five overseas presidents who signed the Fort-de-France Appeal at a meeting with Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and Delegated Minister for Overseas France Jean-François Carenco on September 7.
The appeal stems from the request of the overseas territories to change the development aid policies to affected territories, especially on poverty, the name Fort-de-France coming from the capital of Martinique that initiated the request.
The presidents called for a meeting with President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron to change the situation. According to the national bureau of statistics INSEE (L’Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques), 27.4% of the population in Martinique live below the poverty line, a rate double that of metropolitan France.
The topics for change included the high cost of living, security, economic development, protection of the environment, institutional reforms and overhaul of relations between Paris and the overseas territories.
The presidents were received by President Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, ahead of the presidential dinner given at the Élysée Palace in the presence of elected officials, parliamentarians and préfets from overseas. The talks lasted a total of more than an hour.
Macron indicated his readiness to address economic, social and institutional issues through a specific roadmap for each territory and an agenda that does not exclude any subject.
Borne announced that an inter-ministerial meeting dedicated to overseas France will take place within six months. It was also recalled that a window of opportunity would open at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024 with the constitutional amendments relating to the process undertaken in New Caledonia.
Mussington said he was “satisfied” with these initial exchanges and the commitments made by the government. However, it remains for the roadmaps to be defined and the actions to be taken.
Signatories to the Fort-de-France Appeal were the presidents of Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Martin, Reunion, Mayotte and French Guiana.
