Saint Barthélemy
overseas collectivity of France, island of the Little Antilles / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saint-Barthélemy, officially the Collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy (French: Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy), is a new overseas collectivity of France. It was created on 22 February 2007. It consists of the island of Saint-Barthélemy and neighboring small islands.
Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy | |
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Anthem: La Marseillaise | |
Capital and largest city | Gustavia |
Official languages | French |
Local languages |
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Ethnic groups ([1]) | |
Demonym(s) | Barthélemois(es) |
Government | Dependent territory |
Emmanuel Macron | |
• Prefect | Sylvie Daniélo-Feucher |
• President of the Territorial Council | Bruno Magras |
• Deputy | Daniel Gibbs |
• Senator | Michel Magras |
Overseas collectivity | |
• French colony | 1648 |
• Exchanged with Sweden | 1 July 1784 |
• Sold back to France | 16 March 1878 |
• Overseas collectivity | 22 February 2007 |
Area | |
• Total | 22.1 km2 (8.5 sq mi) (not ranked) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
Population | |
• 2009 census | 8,902[2] |
• Density | 402/km2 (1,041.2/sq mi) (26th) |
Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
Time zone | UTC-4 (AST) |
Calling code | +590c |
ISO 3166 code | BL |
Internet TLD | |
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The island of Saint-Barthélemy, also known as Saint Barts, Saint Barths, or Saint Barth, is in the Caribbean among the Leeward Islands. Its land area is 21.0 km² (8.1 sq. miles). Administratively, the whole island of Saint-Barthélemy was a French commune (commune de Saint-Barthélemy). It was part of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas région and overseas département of France. For this reason, it is part of the European Union. In 2003, the people voted in favour of becoming independent from Guadeloupe. They wanted to form a separate overseas collectivity (COM) of France.[3] On February 7, 2007[4] the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both Saint-Barthélemy and neighbouring Saint-Martin. The new status took effect on 22 February 2007, when the law was published in the Official Journal.[5]
Saint-Barthélemy has long been considered a playground of the rich and famous and is known for its beautiful pristine beaches, gourmet dining in chic bistros and high-end designer shopping.