Government of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
| Country name: | conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon |
| Dependency status: | self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France |
| Government type: | NA |
| Capital: | name: Saint-Pierre geographic coordinates: 46 46 N, 56 11 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November |
| Administrative divisions: | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are two communes - Saint Pierre, Miquelon at the second order |
| Independence: | none (territorial collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763) |
| National holiday: | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Constitution: | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
| Legal system: | the laws of France, where applicable, apply |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007); represented by Prefect Yves FAUQUEUR (since 28 August 2006) head of government: President of the General Council Marc PLANTAGENEST (since NA) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 April 2002 (first round) and 5 May 2002 (second round) (next to be held in 2007); prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the General Council is elected by the members of the council |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats, 15 from Saint Pierre and four from Miquelon; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: elections last held 19 and 26 in March 2006 (next to be held in March 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AD 16, Cap sur l'Avenir 2, SPM Ensemble 1 note: Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect one seat to the French Senate; elections last held 26 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2013); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 1; Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects one seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UDF 1 |
| Judicial branch: | Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel |
| Political parties and leaders: | Archipelago Tomorrow or AD affiliated with UDF/RPR list; Cap sur l'Avenir affiliated with PRG; Left Radical Party or PRG; Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR (now UMP); Saint Pierre and Miquelon 2000/Avenir Miquelon or SPM 2000/AM; Socialist Party or PS; Union pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | UPU, WFTU |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) |
| Flag description: | a yellow sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a dark blue background with yellow wavy lines under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other; these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy; the flag of France is used for official occasions |