Réunion
Overseas department of France in the Indian Ocean / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Réunion,[note 1] officially Department of Réunion,[note 2] is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately 679 km (422 mi) east of the island of Madagascar and 175 km (109 mi) southwest of the island of Mauritius. As of January 2024[update], it had a population of 885,700.[1] Its capital and largest city is Saint-Denis.
Réunion
| |
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Motto(s): | |
Anthem: La Marseillaise (national) ("The Marseillaise") P'tite fleur aimée (regional) | |
Coordinates: 21°06′52″S 55°31′57″E | |
Country | France |
Prefecture | Saint-Denis |
Departments | 1 |
Government | |
• President of Regional Council | Huguette Bello (PLR) |
• President of Departmental Council | Cyrille Melchior (LR) |
Area | |
• Total | 2,511 km2 (970 sq mi) |
• Rank | 15th region |
Population (January 2024)[1] | |
• Total | 885,700 |
• Density | 350/km2 (910/sq mi) |
Demonym | Réunionese |
GDP | |
• Total | €20.339 billion |
• Per capita | €23,800 |
Time zone | UTC+04:00 (RET) |
ISO 3166 code | |
Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
Website | Prefecture Regional Council Departmental Council |
Réunion was uninhabited until French immigrants and colonial subjects settled the island in the 17th century. Its tropical climate led to the development of a plantation economy focused primarily on sugar; slaves from East Africa were imported as fieldworkers, followed by Malays, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Indians as indentured laborers. Today, the greatest proportion of the population is of mixed descent, while the predominant language is Réunion Creole, though French remains the sole official language.
Since 1946, Réunion has been governed as a French region and thus has a similar status to its counterparts in Metropolitan France. Consequently, it is one of the outermost regions of the European Union and part of the eurozone;[3] it is, along with the French overseas department of Mayotte, one of the two eurozone areas in the Southern Hemisphere. Owing to its strategic location, France maintains a large military presence.
France took possession of the island in the 17th century, naming it Bourbon, after the dynasty that then ruled France. To break with this name, which was too attached to the Ancien Régime, the National Convention decided on 23 March 1793[5] to rename the territory Réunion Island. ("Réunion", in French, usually means "meeting" or "assembly" rather than "reunion". This name was presumably chosen in homage to the meeting of the fédérés of Marseilles and the Paris National Guards that preceded the insurrection of 10 August 1792. No document establishes this and the use of the word "meeting" could have been purely symbolic.)[6]
The island changed its name again in the 19th century: in 1806, under the First Empire, General Decaen named it Île Bonaparte (after Napoleon), and in 1810 it became Île Bourbon again. It was eventually renamed Réunion after the fall of the July monarchy by a decree of the provisional government on 7 March 1848.[7]
In accordance with the original spelling and the classical spelling and typographical rules,[8] "la Réunion" was written with a lower case in the article, but during the end of the 20th century, the spelling "La Réunion" with a capital letter was developed in many writings to emphasize the integration of the article in the name. This last spelling corresponds to the recommendations of the Commission nationale de toponymie[9] and appears in the current Constitution of the French Republic in articles 72-3 and 73.
The island has been inhabited since the 17th century, when people from France and Madagascar settled there. Slavery was abolished on 20 December 1848 (a date celebrated yearly on the island), when the Second Republic abolished slavery in the French colonies. However, indentured workers continued to be brought to Réunion from South India, among other places. The island became an overseas department of France in 1946.
Not much is known of Réunion's history prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in the early 16th century.[10] Arab traders were familiar with it by the name Dina Morgabin, "Western Island" (likely Arabic: دنية/دبية مغربي Daniyah/Dībah Maghribīy).[11] The island is possibly featured on a map from 1153 AD by Al Sharif el-Edrisi.[citation needed] The island might also have been visited by Swahili or Austronesian (ancient Indonesian–Malaysian) sailors on their journey to the west from the Malay Archipelago to Madagascar.[10]
The first European discovery of the area was made around 1507 by Portuguese explorer Diogo Fernandes Pereira, but the specifics are unclear. The uninhabited island might have been first sighted by the expedition led by Dom Pedro Mascarenhas, who gave his name to the island group around Réunion, the Mascarenes.[12] Réunion itself was dubbed Santa Apolónia after a favourite saint,[11] which suggests that the date of the Portuguese discovery could have been 9 February, her feast day. Diogo Lopes de Sequeira is said to have landed on the islands of Réunion and Rodrigues in 1509.[citation needed]
By the early 1600s, nominal Portuguese rule had left Santa Apolónia virtually untouched.[12] The island was then occupied by France and administered from Port Louis, Mauritius. Although the first French claims date from 1638, when François Cauche [fr] and Salomon Goubert visited in June 1638,[13] the island was officially claimed by Jacques Pronis [fr] of France in 1642, when he deported a dozen French mutineers to the island from Madagascar. The convicts were returned to France several years later, and in 1649, the island was named Île Bourbon after the French royal House of Bourbon. Colonisation started in 1665, when the French East India Company sent the first settlers.[12]
Revolutionary revolts
On 19 March 1793, during the French Revolution, the island's name was changed to "Réunion Island" in homage to the meeting of the Federates of Marseille and the National Guards of Paris, during the march on the Tuileries Palace on 10 August 1792, and to erase the name of the Bourbon dynasty.[14]
The abolition of slavery voted by the National Convention on 4 February 1794, was rejected by Réunion, as well as by Île de France (Mauritius). A delegation accompanied by military forces, charged with imposing the liberation of slaves, arrived on the island of Bourbon on 18 June 1796, only to be immediately expelled without mercy. There followed a period of unrest and challenges to the power of the metropolis, which no longer had any authority over the two islands. The First Consul of the Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte, maintained slavery there, which was never abolished in practice, with the law of 20 May 1802. On 26 September 1806, the island took the name of Bonaparte and found itself in the front line of the Franco-British conflict for the control of the Indian Ocean.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the island was invaded by British forces and its governor, General Sainte-Suzanne, was forced to capitulate on 9 July 1810. The island then came under British rule and was returned to the French under the Treaty of Paris of 1814.
Following climatic catastrophes of 1806-1807 (cyclones, floods), coffee cultivation declined rapidly and was replaced by sugar cane, whose demand in France increased, due to France's recent loss of Saint-Domingue, and soon of the Île-de-France (Mauritius). Because of its growth cycle, sugarcane is not affected by cyclones. In 1841, Edmond Albius' discovery of hand-pollination of vanilla flowers enabled the island to soon become the world's leading vanilla producer. The cultivation of geranium, whose essence is widely used in perfumery, also took off.
From 1838 to 1841, Rear Admiral Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell was governor of the island. A profound change of society and mentality linked to the events of the last ten years led the governor to present three emancipation projects to the Colonial Council.
On 20 December 1848, Joseph Napoléon Sébastien Sarda Garriga finally proclaimed the abolition of slavery (20 December was a holiday in Réunion). Louis Henri Hubert Delisle became its first Creole governor on 8 August 1852, and remained in this position until 8 January 1858. Europe increasingly turned to sugar beet to meet its sugar needs. Despite the development policy of the local authorities and the recourse to compromise, the economic crisis became evident from the 1870s onwards. Subsequently, the opening of the Suez Canal caused a shift in commercial traffic away from the island. However, this economic depression did not prevent the modernization of the island, with the development of the road network, the creation of the railroad and the construction of the artificial harbor of the Pointe des Galets. These major construction projects offered a welcome alternative for agricultural workers.
Modern history
From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French colonisation, supplemented by importing Africans, Chinese and Indians as workers, contributed to ethnic diversity in the population. From 1690, most of the non-Europeans on the island were enslaved. The colony abolished slavery on 20 December 1848. Afterwards, many of the foreign workers came as indentured workers. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 reduced the importance of the island as a stopover on the East Indies trade route.[15]
During the Second World War, Réunion was under the authority of the Vichy regime until 30 November 1942, when Free French forces took over the island with the destroyer Léopard.[citation needed]
Réunion became a département d'outre-mer (overseas département) of France on 19 March 1946. INSEE assigned to Réunion the department code 974
, and the region code 04
when regional councils were created in 1982 in France, including in existing overseas departments which also became overseas regions.
Over about two decades in the late 20th century (1963–1982), 1,630 children from Réunion were relocated to rural areas of metropolitan France, particularly to Creuse, ostensibly for education and work opportunities. That program was led by influential Gaullist politician Michel Debré, who was an MP for Réunion at the time.[16] Many of these children were abused or disadvantaged by the families with whom they were placed. Known as the Children of Creuse, they and their fate came to light in 2002 when one of them, Jean-Jacques Martial, filed suit against the French state for kidnapping and deportation of a minor.[17] Other similar lawsuits were filed over the following years, but all were dismissed by French courts and finally by the European Court of Human Rights in 2011.[18]
In 2005 and 2006, Réunion was hit by a crippling epidemic of chikungunya, a disease spread by mosquitoes. According to the BBC News, 255,000 people on Réunion had contracted the disease as of 26 April 2006.[19] The neighbouring islands of Mauritius and Madagascar also suffered epidemics of this disease during the same year.[20][21] A few cases also appeared in mainland France, carried by people travelling by airline. The French government of Dominique de Villepin sent an emergency aid package worth €36 million and deployed about 500 troops in an effort to eradicate mosquitoes on the island.[citation needed]
Réunion sends seven deputies to the French National Assembly and three senators to the Senate.
Status
Réunion is an Overseas department and region of France (known in French as a Département et Région d'Outre-Mer, DROM) governed by Article 73 of the Constitution of France, under which the laws and regulations are applicable as of right, as in metropolitan France.[22]
Thus, Réunion has a regional council and a departmental council. These territorial entities have the same general powers as the departments and regions of metropolitan France, albeit with some adaptations. Article 73 of the Constitution provides for the possibility of replacing the region and the department by a single territorial entity, but, unlike French Guiana or Martinique, there are currently no plans to do so. Unlike the other DROMs, the Constitution explicitly excludes Réunion from the possibility of receiving authorization from Parliament to set certain rules itself, either by law or by the national executive.[22] The State is represented in Réunion by a prefect. The territory is divided into four districts (Saint-Benoît, Saint-Denis, Saint-Paul and Saint-Pierre). Réunion has 24 municipalities organized into 5 agglomeration communities. From the point of view of the European Union, Réunion is considered an "outermost region.”
Geopolitics
The positioning of Réunion Island has given it a more or less important strategic role depending on the period.
Already at the time of the India Route or Route des Indes, Réunion was a French possession located between Cape Town and the Indian trading posts, although far from the Mozambique Channel. Île de Bourbon (its name under the Ancien Régime) was not, however, the preferred position for trade and military. Governor Labourdonnais claimed that Île de France (Mauritius) was a land of opportunity, thanks to its topography and the presence of two natural harbours. He intended Île de Bourbon to be a depot or an emergency base for Île de France.[23]
The opening of the Suez Canal diverted much of the maritime traffic from the southern Indian Ocean and reduced the strategic importance of the island. This decline is confirmed by the importance given to Madagascar, which was later colonized.[15]
Today, the island, the seat of a defense and security zone, is the headquarters of the French Armed Forces of the Southern Indian Ocean Zone (FAZSOI), which brings together French Army units stationed in La Réunion and Mayotte. Réunion is also a base for the so-called Frenchelon signal intelligence system, whose infrastructure includes a mobile listening and automatic search unit. Saint-Pierre is also the headquarters of the mostly uninhabited French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Terres australes et antarctiques françaises, TAAF). Because of France's possession of Réunion, France is a member of the Indian Ocean Commission, which also includes the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles.
Administratively, Réunion is divided into 24 communes (municipalities) grouped into four arrondissements. It is also subdivided into 25 cantons, meaningful only for electoral purposes at the departmental or regional level.[24] It is a French overseas department, hence a French overseas region. The low number of communes, compared with French metropolitan departments of similar size and population, is unique: most of its communes encompass several localities, sometimes separated by significant distances.
Municipalities (communes)
Name | Area (km2) | Population (2019)[25] | Coat of arms | Arrondissement | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Les Avirons | 26.27 | 11,440 | Saint-Pierre | ||
Bras-Panon | 88.55 | 13,057 | Saint-Benoît | ||
Cilaos | 84.4 | 5,538 | Saint-Pierre | ||
Entre-Deux | 66.83 | 6,927 | Saint-Pierre | ||
L'Étang-Salé | 38.65 | 14,059 | Saint-Pierre | ||
Petite-Île | 33.93 | 12,395 | Saint-Pierre | ||
La Plaine-des-Palmistes | 83.19 | 6,626 | Saint-Benoît | ||
Le Port | 16.62 | 32,977 | Saint-Paul | ||
La Possession | 118.35 | 32,985 | Saint-Paul | ||
Saint-André | 53.07 | 56,902 | Saint-Benoît | ||
Saint-Benoît | 229.61 | 37,036 | Saint-Benoît | ||
Saint-Denis | 142.79 | 153,810 | Saint-Denis | ||
Saint-Joseph | 178.5 | 37,918 | Saint-Pierre | ||
Saint-Leu | 118.37 | 34,586 | Saint-Paul | ||
Saint-Louis | 98.9 | 53,120 | Saint-Pierre | ||
Saint-Paul | 241.28 | 103,208 | Saint-Paul | ||
Saint-Philippe | 153.94 | 5,198 | Saint-Pierre | ||
Saint-Pierre | 95.99 | 84,982 | Saint-Pierre | ||
Sainte-Marie | 87.21 | 34,061 | Saint-Denis | ||
Sainte-Rose | 177.6 | 6,345 | Saint-Benoît | ||
Sainte-Suzanne | 58.84 | 24,065 | Saint-Denis | ||
Salazie | 103.82 | 7,136 | Saint-Benoît | ||
Le Tampon | 165.43 | 79,824 | Saint-Pierre | ||
Les Trois-Bassins | 42.58 | 7,015 | Saint-Paul |
The communes voluntarily grouped themselves into five groups for cooperating in some domains, apart from the four arrondissements to which they belong for purposes of national laws and executive regulation. After some changes in their composition, name and status, all of them operate with the status of agglomeration communities, and apply their own local taxation (in addition to national, regional, departmental, and municipal taxes) and have an autonomous budget decided by the assembly representing all member communes. This budget is also partly funded by the state, the region, the department, and the European Union for some development and investment programs. Every commune in Réunion is now a member of such an intercommunality, with its own taxation, to which member communes have delegated their authority in various areas.
Although diplomacy, military, and French government matters are handled by Paris, Réunion is a member of La Francophonie, the Indian Ocean Commission, the International Trade Union Confederation, the Universal Postal Union, the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa, and the World Federation of Trade Unions in its own right.
The French Armed Forces are responsible for the defence of the department. These forces also contribute to the defence of other French territories in the region, including Mayotte and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. A total of some 2,000 French troops are deployed in the region, mostly in Réunion centred on the 2nd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment. Two CASA CN 235 aircraft, forming air detachment 181 and drawn from the 50th Air Transport squadron, provide a modest air transport and surveillance capability.[26][27] In 2022, the French Air Force demonstrated a capacity to reinforce the territory by deploying two Rafale fighter aircraft, supported by an A330 MRTT Phénix tanker, from France to Réunion for a regional exercise.[28]
The French naval presence includes two Floréal-class frigates, Floréal and Nivôse, the icebreaker L'Astrolabe, the patrol and support ship Champlain and the coast guard vessel Le Malin. The naval aviation element includes Eurocopter AS565 Panther helicopters from Flottille 36F able to embark on the Floréal-class frigates as required.[29][26] By 2025, Le Malin is to be replaced by Auguste Techer, a vessel of the new Félix Éboué class of patrol vessels.[30] The French Navy will further reinforce its offshore patrol capabilities in the region by deploying a second vessel of the class (Félix Éboué) to Réunion by late 2025/early 2026.[31]
About 800 National Gendarmerie, including one mobile squadron and one high mountain platoon, are also stationed in Réunion.[32] The Maritime Gendarmerie operates the patrol boat Verdon in the territory[33] (though she was reported forward deployed in Mayotte as of 2022).[34]