Collectivité d'outre-mer
Encyclopedia
The French overseas collectivities ( or COM), like the French regions
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...

 are first-order administrative divisions of France
Administrative divisions of France
The administrative divisions of France are concerned with the institutional and territorial organization of French territory. There are many administrative divisions, which may have political , electoral , or administrative objectives.- Metropolitan France :As of January 1, 2008, metropolitan...

. The COMs include some former French overseas territories and other French overseas entities with a particular status, all of which became COMs by constitutional
Constitution of France
The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth...

 reform on 28 March 2003.

As of 31 March 2011, there were five COMs:
  • French Polynesia
    French Polynesia
    French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...

    became a COM in 2003. Its statutory law of 27 February 2004 gives it the designation of Overseas country inside the Republic , but without legal modification of its status. French Polynesia has a great degree of autonomy, two symbolic manifestations of which are the title of the President of French Polynesia
    President of French Polynesia
    This is the list of Presidents of French Polynesia.-See also:*List of monarchs of Tahiti*Colonial and Departmental Heads of French Polynesia-External links:*...

     (Le président de la Polynésie française) and its additional designation as a pays d'outre-mer. Legislature: Assembly of French Polynesia
    Assembly of French Polynesia
    The Assembly of French Polynesia is the unicameral legislature of French Polynesia, located at the Place Tarahoi in Papeete, Tahiti. It consists of 57 members who are elected by popular vote and by proportional representation in 6 multi-seat constituencies. The only official language of the...

    .
  • Saint Barthélemy
    Saint Barthélemy
    Saint Barthélemy , officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao...

    , an island in the Lesser Antilles
    Lesser Antilles
    The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...

    .
  • Saint Martin
    Saint Martin (France)
    Saint Martin , officially the Collectivity of Saint Martin is an overseas collectivity of France located in the Caribbean. It came into being on 15 July 2007, encompassing the northern parts of Saint Martin island and neighbouring islets, the largest of which is Île Tintamarre...

    , the northern part of the island of Saint Martin
    Saint Martin
    Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...

     in the Lesser Antilles
    Lesser Antilles
    The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...

    .
  • Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean
    Atlantic Ocean
    The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

     off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada
    Canada
    Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

    . It has a territorial council.
  • Wallis and Futuna
    Wallis and Futuna
    Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands , is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast,...

    , three small islands in the Pacific Ocean
    Pacific Ocean
    The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

     and the only inhabited part of France that is not divided into communes.


Mayotte
Mayotte
Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...

 was a COM from 1976 until 2011, when it became a DOM.

See also

  • Administrative divisions of France
    Administrative divisions of France
    The administrative divisions of France are concerned with the institutional and territorial organization of French territory. There are many administrative divisions, which may have political , electoral , or administrative objectives.- Metropolitan France :As of January 1, 2008, metropolitan...

  • Mahoran status referendum, 2009
    Mahoran status referendum, 2009
    A referendum on becoming an overseas department of France was held in Mayotte on 29 March 2009. Mayotte had been an overseas collectivity of France since 2003...

  • Outremer
    Outremer
    Outremer, French for "overseas", was a general name given to the Crusader states established after the First Crusade: the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and especially the Kingdom of Jerusalem...

  • Overseas departments and territories of France
    Overseas departments and territories of France
    The French Overseas Departments and Territories consist broadly of French-administered territories outside of the European continent. These territories have varying legal status and different levels of autonomy, although all have representation in the Parliament of France , and consequently the...


External links

Official site past and current developments of France's overseas administrative divisions like collectivités d'outre-mer
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