Politics of the Collectivity of Saint Martin Politics of the Collectivity of Saint Martin Saint Martin was a French commune for many years and formed part of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas "région" and "département" of France and is therefore in the European Union. In 2003, the population of the French part of the island voted in favour of secession from Guadeloupe in order to form a separate overseas collectivity (COM) of France. On 9 February 2007, the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both the French part of Saint Martin and neighbouring Saint Barthélemy. The new status took effect once the local assembly
2015 Pacific Games for Rio 2016. These sporting events took place in 14 venues in the host city. The host nation, Papua New Guinea, topped the medal table for only the second time, winning the most golds (88) and most medals overall (217). New Caledonia finished second making it only the third time the French territory had failed to place first. Tahiti finished third. Tuvalu won its first ever gold medal at the games, and the debutant teams from Australia and New Zealand won their first Pacific Games medals including gold. Five South Pacific island nations bid for opportunity to host the 2015