Residents of the French archipelago of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the only overseas territory in the North Atlantic with 6,000 inhabitants, show historical confidence amid geopolitical tensions with the United States under Donald Trump. Local officials plan to strengthen ties with Canada, their main partner. A local senator criticizes the recent delegation of part of the airspace management to Canada.
Mentioning the unpredictable US President Donald Trump among Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon's residents elicits mixed reactions: mockery of his apparent madness and confidence drawn from historical lessons. This archipelago of 6,000 inhabitants, France's only overseas territory in the North Atlantic, recalls the rally to Free France organized by Admiral Émile Muselier on December 25, 1941, after joining Charles de Gaulle in June 1940.
Amid current tensions with the United States, local officials, led by the center-left party Cap sur l’avenir that governs both communes, aim to bolster ties with Canada. Senator Annick Girardin, a former minister of overseas territories and the sea under Emmanuel Macron from 2017 to 2022, questioned the government on January 21 about the decision to assign management of the approach airspace zone (below 6,000 feet) to Canadian means.
“The France is not able to send three civil servants to manage the control tower and delegates part of its airspace to Canada. They tell me it's a technical choice that does not engage sovereignty, but it's not a good signal in the current context,” Girardin told Le Monde. This technical measure raises questions about French sovereignty in a tense geopolitical climate.
