Politics of Réunion
Encyclopedia
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
, an overseas département of France.
The island's conventional name is the Department of Réunion, or Réunion. It is also locally referred to as Île de la Réunion. The French flag is used on the island. The island's capital is Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis, Réunion
Saint-Denis is the préfecture of the French overseas region and department of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. It is located at the island's northernmost point, close to the mouth of the Rivière Saint-Denis....
, and the island is divided into four arrondissement
Arrondissement
Arrondissement is any of various administrative divisions of France, certain other Francophone countries, and the Netherlands.-France:The 101 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The capital of an arrondissement is called a...
s, 24 commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
s and 47 canton
Cantons of France
The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 342 arrondissements and 101 departments.Apart from their role as organizational units in certain aspects of the administration of public services and justice, the chief purpose of the cantons today is to serve as...
s.
Réunion is governed by French law, and its constitution is the French constitution of 28 September 1958. Suffrage is granted universally to all those over the age of 18.
The national holiday of the island is 14 July, Bastille Day
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
, commemorating the Fête de la Fédération
Fête de la Fédération
The Fête de la Fédération of the 14 July 1790 was a huge feast and official event to celebrate the establishment of the short-lived constitutional monarchy in France and what people of the time considered to be the happy conclusion of the French Revolution the outcome hoped for by the...
in 1790. The island's data code is "RE".
Executive Branch
The chief of state is the French President, Nicolas SarkozyNicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
, who is represented by Prefect
Colonial and Departmental Heads of Réunion
-List of Colonial and Departmental Heads of Réunion:...
Pierre-Henry Maccioni. The president of the General Council, who acts as head of the government, is Nassimah Dindar.
Elections held in Réunion include the French presidential vote
Elections in France
France is a representative democracy. Public officials in the legislative and executive branches are either elected by the citizens or appointed by elected officials...
. A prefect is appointed by the president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior. The presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by members of those councils.
Legislative Branch
The unicameral General Council has 47 seats. The unicameral Regional Council has 45 seats. Members of both are elected by direct electionDirect election
Direct election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the...
for six-year terms.
Composition
| Party | seats | |
|---|---|---|
| • | Union for a Popular Movement Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party... |
15 |
| Socialist Party Socialist Party (France) The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement... |
10 | |
| • | Miscellaneous Right | 10 |
| Communist Party of Réunion Communist Party of Réunion The Communist Party of Réunion is a Communist political party in the French overseas department of Réunion . The party has one seat in the French National Assembly.-History:... |
8 | |
| Miscellaneous Left | 3 | |
| • | MoDem Democratic Movement (France) The Democratic Movement , MoDem) is a centrist, social liberal and pro-European French political party that was founded by centrist politician François Bayrou to succeed his Union for French Democracy and to contest the 2007 legislative election, after his strong showing in the 2007 presidential... |
3 |
Current Deputies
Réunion elects three representatives to the French SenateFrench Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
and five to the National Assembly.
| Constituency | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | René-Paul Victoria René-Paul Victoria René-Paul Victoria is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the island of Réunion.Candidate for the French legislative election, 1997 in 1997, he loses against Michel Tamaya.... |
UMP Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party... |
|
| 2nd | Huguette Bello Huguette Bello Huguette Bello is a politician from Réunion and a member of the Reunionese Communist Party .She is a deputy in the French National Assembly where she sits in the Gauche démocrate et républicaine parliamentary group, which includes the Greens, the French Communist Party and other left-wing... |
PCR Communist Party of Réunion The Communist Party of Réunion is a Communist political party in the French overseas department of Réunion . The party has one seat in the French National Assembly.-History:... |
|
| 3rd | Dider Robert | UMP Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party... |
|
| 4th | Patrick Lebreton | PS Socialist Party (France) The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement... |
|
| 5th | Jean-Claude Fruteau | PS Socialist Party (France) The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement... |
|
Senators
Réunion elects three Senators to the French SenateFrench Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
for six-year terms. The current Senators are Gélita Hoarau
Gélita Hoarau
Gélita Hoarau is a member of the Senate of France, representing the island of Réunion. She is a member of the Communist, Republican, and Citizen Group. Her husband is Élie Hoarau.-References:*...
(PCR
Communist Party of Réunion
The Communist Party of Réunion is a Communist political party in the French overseas department of Réunion . The party has one seat in the French National Assembly.-History:...
), Anne-Marie Payet
Anne-Marie Payet
Anne-Marie Payet is a member of the Senate of France, representing the island of Réunion. She is a member of the Centrist Union.-References:*...
(centrist), and Jean-Paul Virapoullé
Jean-Paul Virapoullé
Jean-Paul Virapoullé is a member of the Senate of France, representing the island of Réunion.Virapoullé is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement. A wealthy sugar cane farmer of the Malbar group, he is known as a traditional opponent of the Communist Party of Réunion.-References:*...
(UMP
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
).
International organization participation
Indian Ocean Commission, World Federation of Trade UnionsWorld Federation of Trade Unions
The World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...