In 2017, France adopted a national strategy for the sea and the coast. Three senators, including Annick Petrus, from the Senate Overseas Delegation, assessed the implementation of this national strategy for the Overseas Territories and published an information report.
They propose 40 recommendations in order to initiate a cultural revolution around the ocean, consolidate maritime sovereignty to give credibility to French ambitions and make maritime strategy the engine of economic transition in Overseas France.
Recommendation number 17 concerns Saint-Martin. The rapporteurs suggest that a multi-purpose helicopter (army, gendarmerie, customs, civil security) be based in Saint-Martin for the northern islands. “Regular surveillance of overseas maritime areas seems to be failing in places.
The community of Saint-Barthélemy thus considers that its maritime space is too little controlled and recalls that the gendarmerie only has one ship for the two northern islands.
Above all, the air resources are weak: no helicopter is based on the northern islands and the availability of a helicopter from Guadeloupe is more than random,” they noted during their hearings. This report is available on the Senate website.
(source: soualigapost.com)
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