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Guadeloupe - Government

The State is represented by a prefect in Basse-Terre and a sub-prefect in Pointe-à-Pitre. It is governed by the provisions of Article 73 of the Constitution. Guadeloupe is one of the outermost regions (RUPs) of the European Union. The island is represented by four deputies and three senators in Parliament and two representatives to the Economic, Social and Environmental Council. Three MEPs represent the ultramarine French in the European Parliament.

Guadeloupe is an associate member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), which promotes economic, social and cultural relations in the regional environment. Guadeloupe, although an Outermost Region (OR), is a French overseas department (and has been since 1946) and is an integral part of the EU. Guadeloupe is therefore covered by all French and EU rights, regulations and obligations.

The islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique (in the Lesser Antilles) and French Guiana (along the northern coast of South America between Suriname and Brazil) constitute the French Overseas Departments (FDAs) in the Americas. They have been an integral part of France since 1946, and their political and administrative structure mirrors that of metropolitan France.

The Guadeloupe Archipelago is governed by a prefect and by both a general and regional council, whose members are selected in democratic elections. Its representation in the French National Assembly consists of four representatives and two senators. The Commissioner is appointed by the French government. Legislative Power is vested in a 42-member General Council and 41-member Regional Council, elected in office for a six-year term. Guadeloupe has four representatives and two senators in the French Parliament. The Judicial system consists of the Appeals Court with a 6-court lesser circuit.

Political parties are the Fédération Guadeloupéenne du Parti Socialiste (PS); Fédération Guadeloupéenne du Rassemblement pour la République (RPR); Fédération Guadeloupéenne de l'Union pour la Démocratie Française (UDF). These are local branches of the parties in mainland France. The 2007 French presidential election was not really the “cup of tea” of the Guadeloupeans. But, electoral visits and promises have been relatively numerous. Marie-George Buffet, (French Communist Party), then Ségolène Royal, (Socialist party), Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) and finally Francois Bayrou (UDF) all came to Guadeloupe.

Protesters in Guadeloupe and neighbouring Martinique erected barricades and blocked roads this month as anger mounted over an order also in place in mainland France requiring health workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. France is sent additional security forces to the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, as the country’s minister responsible for overseas territories met with union leaders to try to defuse days of unrest over COVID-19 restrictions. In a statement on 29 November 2021, Minister for Overseas Territories Sebastien Lecornu said he met with four union representatives, who handed him a list of their demands. But the ministry said the union leaders failed to denounce recent violence, including attacks on police and other security officers.

Lecornu floated the possibility of giving Guadeloupe, the more troubled of the two territories, more autonomy. His proposal drew fire from the opposition, with centre-right presidential hopeful Xavier Bertrand accusing the government of being ready to let France "be broken up" and far-right leader Marine Le Pen accusing Lecornu of trying to "buy off" hardline pro-independence groups. Lecornu's remarks also received a lukewarm response from MPs in Guadeloupe, who said the immediate priority was tackling high levels of youth unemployment and other social problems.