Visit Presidents of the Régions de France association

The Presidents Daniel Gibbs received in community yesterday afternoon the President of Regions of France, Mr. Hervé Morin and the President Renaud Muselier who are visiting the Antilles, accompanied by Mr. Alfred Marie-Jeanne, president of the local authority from Martinique. During this meeting, President Gibbs had by his side his 1st vice-president, Valérie Damaseau, in charge of Human Development, his 3rd vice-president Annick Pétrus, in charge of Education, Professional Training and Social Affairs , and Ms. Marie-Dominique Ramphort, in charge of Administration and Finance.

In his welcome speech, President Daniel Gibbs insisted on the community's 5 major projects relating to skills relating to the regions: professional training, the reconstruction of school buildings, the relaunch of sustainable tourism, economic development and relations with Europe and the use of European funds.

The presidents of French Regions who came to see for themselves the impact of Hurricane Irma, were able to visit the comprehensive high school of the Northern Islands on Wednesday evening, in the presence of the rector Mostafa Fourar and the principal Jeanine Hamlet, as well as the Beach Hotel, example of a large format hotel under reconstruction.

Thursday October 25, the presidents were received at the port of Galisbay by the site director Albéric Ellis, who presented to them the challenges of sizing this essential infrastructure for the economic future of the territory. The presidents were then taken to the tourist village of Grand Case, where the reconstruction of the remarkable built heritage is a priority for the community. The visit continued to the site of Anse Marcel, a major local tourism site heavily impacted by the hurricane, and the Soualiga college in Cul de Sac, an example of destruction of public buildings.

The visit ended at the site of the eastern bay where the presidents were able to assess the tourist potential of Saint-Martin with the recent reconstruction of Bikini Beach. (Attached some photos of the visits).


Present during this trip:
Mr. Minister Hervé MORIN, President of the Regions of France and President of the Normandy region,
Mr. Renaud MUSELIER, President of the South Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur Region,
Mr. Alfred MARIE-JEANNE, President of the Overseas Commission of Regions of France and President of the local authority of Martinique .
Mr Jules NYSSEN, Director General of Régions de France.

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Mr. Minister Hervé MORIN, President of the Regions of France,
Mr. Renaud MUSELIER, president of the South Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur Region,
Mr. President of the Overseas Commission of Regions of France and president of the territorial community of Martinique, dear Alfred MARIE-JEANNE
Ladies and gentlemen elected officials of the Executive Council,
Ladies and gentlemen in your ranks and qualities,

I welcome you to Saint-Martin and I would like to sincerely thank you for your presence among us.

We need to continue to talk more, on the merits of the issues, about reconstruction in Saint-Martin because if life resumes, the situation is still critical.
 
On your arrival, you were able to get a glimpse of the scale of the disaster, thirteen months after IRMA. Many buildings are still in their state, I will not insist on the figures, the findings, the assessments: the short film that you will watch later summarizes the trauma suffered, and speaks for itself…
I would add a worrying aspect, which I repeat to all my interlocutors, here, in Paris, in Brussels, and which is not visible: Saint-Martin has emptied itself of part of its vital forces. Around 7,000 people left the territory in September 2017.
Nationally, this would represent an exodus of more than 12 million French people. Or the Ile de France region, as if wiped off the map!!
A little more than 3,000 people have returned over the past year, but the net balance remains negative, we can clearly see this in the declining school numbers from 10% to 15% compared to last year.
Worse, other talents risk leaving us if the economy does not pick up…
Working on the attractiveness of Saint-Martin , to bring back, and come, skills, from the public as well as the private, will therefore constitute for me an imperative necessity in the coming months.
I would like, here and now, to emphasize five projects, relating to skills relevant to regions.

Because we tend to forget it in Paris where we are still considered as a municipality, Saint-Martin has accumulated skills since its passage into an overseas community in 2007 of the State, a municipality, a Department and a Region.

In other words, we can be considered, with our compatriots from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and Saint-Barthélemy, as one of the smallest regions of France…

This results in an increase in responsibilities for the Saint-Martin Executive, which must implement difficult reforms -in worst moment in the history of the island.

Simply put, previously, we administered a commune. Today, I have to manage a country…


1- First project: Resolutely promote professional training…
The population of Saint-Martin is characterized by its youth: a third of COM residents are under 20 years old, compared to a quarter in mainland France.
Let us also remember that in 2014, the population with a higher education diploma represented only 14.5% of those over 15 years, compared to 18.7% in Guadeloupe and 27.8% in mainland France.