SXMElections.com

Vp Steven Patrick: We Need To Read The Fine Print In The Pprn

Overseas Minister Annick Girardin (left) chats with Velo Club de Sandy Ground youth coach Patricio Blade Carty on Tuesday morning when she visited the Sandy Ground district council. Looking on are Dpute Claire Guion-Firmin and Senator Guillaume Arnell. (Robert Luckock photo)

MARIGOT--French Overseas Territories Minister Ann Read more

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President Gibbs New Year Wishes: Social Cohesion At The Heart Of 2020 Challenges

Members of the assembled group for President Gibbs delivery of his New Year wishes, from left: Prfecture Secretary-General Michal Dore, President of Parliament William Marlin, Governor Eugene Holiday, Gibbs, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, 1st Vice President of the Collectivit Valrie Damaseau, and Senator Guillaume Arnell Read more

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President Daniel Gibbs Takes Up Office, New Government Installed

MARIGOT--A renewed Territorial Council of St. Martin destined to govern the territory for the next five years was installed Sunday, with Daniel Gibbs voted in as President during a formal ceremony at Hotel de La Collectivité, opened by outgoing first Vice-President Read more

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French-Side Carnival Launched With Symbolic Key Presentation

MARIGOT--First Vice-President Guillaume Arnell officially signalled the start of the 2017 French-side Carnival on Saturday evening on the waterfront with the symbolic key hand-over to President of Festivités Carnavalesque de St. Martin (FCDSM) Jean-Philippe Richardson.

The key was brought in on a cushion by Miss Pitchounette 2016, Maëlys Farlot Read more

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Arnell Clarifies Law Amendments For Tax Reimbursement By Airlines

MARIGOT--Senator Guillaume Arnell on Monday clarified a press release regarding a legal obligation for airlines to refund taxes back to consumers.

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Grand Case Runway Extension Talks To Continue, No Deal Yet

MARIGOT--First Vice-President Guillaume Arnell said Monday discussions and negotiations are continuing with the Laurence family and their Notary over the Collectivité’s acquisition of land to construct the runway extension at Grand Case airport, adding he is due to meet next with the family on January 27.

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St. Martin Travellers Reimbursed For Expenses If Flights Cancelled

MARIGOT--Senator Guillaume Arnell disclosed that St. Martin is now one of four overseas territories which will be allowed to have its consumers reimbursed for taxes and other airport charges by airlines or travel agents if flights are cancelled.

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Committee To Review Maritime Transport Functioning In Wake Of Pinel Ferry Strike

MARIGOT--First Vice-President Guillaume Arnell disclosed Monday that a committee will be formed to review, study and address problems associated with maritime transport; in the first instance focusing on transport to the small islands such as Pinel for a duration of three months.

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47 Become French Nationals At Naturalisation Ceremony

MARIGOT--Forty-seven persons of mixed nationalities from St. Martin and St. Barths became French citizens at a naturalisation ceremony held in the Préfecture on Thursday;

34 were inducted by decree and thirteen by marriage. The thirteen countries represented included Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Jamaica, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Brazil, India, Morocco, Guyana and England.

The conference room of the Préfecture was filled to capacity for the ceremony with family members present as well.

Assisting Préfète Anne Laubies in presenting the decrees to the recipients were Senator Guillaume Arnell, Member of Parliament Daniel Gibbs, Préfecture General-Secretary Thierry Mahler, Vice-President of the St Read more

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Collectivité Starts Reorganisation And Verification Of Street Names, Numbers

MARIGOT--First Vice-President Guillaume Arnell recently announced the launching this August of a major project to overhaul the often confusing addressing system in St. Martin.

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Hanson Recaps On Collectivité Projects In Bastille Day Speech

MARIGOT--Security, rehabilitation of Marigot town centre, the waterfront development project and other improvements formed part of President Aline Hanson’s general speech during the official Bastille Day ceremony on Thursday.

  She said the beautification of Marigot included opening up the alley next to the Methodist Church on Rue de la Liberté that leads to the waterfront, renovating the square outside the Post Office and demolishing the former Gendarmerie building on Rue de la Liberté, projects that will improve the circulation of pedestrians and open up better views to the waterfront.

  On the waterfront development, she said she was convinced St Read more

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Arnell Dismisses Talk Of Expropriation Procedure

MARIGOT--First Vice-President Guillaume Arnell was put on the defensive in Thursday’s Territorial Council meeting to clarify one of the agenda points concerning negotiations with the Laurence family to acquire the land needed for the Grand Case Airport runway extension.

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Paines: ‘We Want St. Martiners To Be Taken Into Consideration’

MARIGOT--Assurance was given on Friday by protest organisers that there will be no further actions or civil unrest between now and Tuesday, March 15, the date protestors meet again with the Collectivité and Préfète Anne Laubies to hopefully hammer out an agreement acceptable to both the Orient Beach tenants and the Collectivité.

Calm descended on French Quarter after two days of unrest marked by blocked roads culminating Thursday night with a brief episode of violence as Gendarmes forcibly removed barricades.

Capitaine Emmanuel Maignan confirmed that the operation to clear the streets and remove barricades had lasted from 5:00pm to 7:30pm Read more

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Blue Zone Parking System For Marigot Starts March 1

MARIGOT--First Vice-President Guillaume Arnell announced Friday the Blue Zone parking system for the centre of Marigot will come into effect as of March 1, with the first month used as a trial period for consumers to get used to the system and obtain their parking discs.

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Arnell Tells Beach Tenants ‘Profiting From Government Property Is Over’

MARIGOT--Vice-President Guillaume Arnell said Friday St. Martiners had only themselves to blame for the current stand-off with the Collectivité over the new restaurants because of past practices on Orient Beach of sub-letting their establishments, even charging key money, adding that this abuse of government property is no longer toler Read more

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French Quarter residents block main road over lack of security

~ Nerves frayed after district suffers 13 fires in two months ~

MARIGOT--The main RN7 road just outside French Quarter at Angel's Insurance was blocked for nearly five hours Wednesday morning as residents demanded accountability from authorities over lack of security in the district following a series of 13 fires in the span of less than two months.

Long lines of cars built up as motorists from both directions were forced to turn around.

A phantom arsonist appears to be at work and the fact that no suspects have been positively identified as perpetrators of the crimes has left residents on tenterhooks, wondering who will be the next victim.

Tensions boiled over after a wooden house on Route de La Saline burnt down Tuesday afternoon, destroying three cars and leaving a family of six homeless Read more

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Chinese delegation impressed with island’s ‘beauty, ethnicity’

MARIGOT--“The competitive nature of the global market place demands that we act global and think global. We must sell our assets of stability, ease of access and ease of doing business.”

Those were some of the remarks made by Founder and CEO of Invest Caribbean Now (ICN), Felicia Persaud, in her keynote address at Friday’s exclusive invitation-only conference in the Chamber of Commerce on the theme “Investing in St. Martin’s Tourism Product”.

“Partnerships, collaborations, linkages, networking…that’s the key to the success of businesses, economies, governments, because from where I sit there is no way that any government on any island is smart enough to do it alone,” she added Read more

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VP Arnell to seek advice from Préfète on homeless situation

MARIGOT--The 72-hour deadline to prevent a protest action over the homeless situation at the Marina Royale car park was extended by District Five Wednesday to give First Vice-President Guillaume Arnell a chance to discuss the situation with Préfète Anne Laubies and get back to the district with answers.

Arnell was at the district headquarters Wednesday attending a presentation of their projects, unrelated to the marina car park problem, but nevertheless was questioned on what the Collectivité is doing, or can do, about the homeless situation and other matters related to the car park Read more

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‘Musical Chairs’ movie sends powerful message

MARIGOT--St. Maarten/St. Martin Alliance for Equality (SAFE) hosted a successful screening of the very entertaining movie “Musical Chairs” at the Cultural Center in Sandy Ground on Wednesday evening.

The event produced a good turnout from a diverse public representing both French and Dutch sides. Elected officials present included First Vice-President and Senator of the Collectivité of St. Martin Guillaume Arnell, Second Vice-President of the Collectivité Ramona Connor and Territorial Councillor René-Jean Duret Read more

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Gendarmes, Firemen, honoured in Bastille Day pinning ceremonies

MARIGOT--The usually predictable format of the Bastille Day programme took on a different twist Tuesday when military medals were bestowed on six Gendarmes and, in a separate ceremony, three professional firemen promoted in rank received their stripes.

The medal ceremony for the Gendarmes of St. Martin and St. Barths conducted by Colonel Thiriot, second in command of the Guadeloupe Gendarmerie, preceded the wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial in the garden of Hotel de la Collectivité.

Dignitaries from both sides of the island and Anguilla had attended a service in the Catholic Church just earlier.

The Military Medal, France’s third highest military distinction, was pinned on the lapels of Adjudant-Chef Nicolas Heslon (48) of the St Read more

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Island Gems assists with SESSAD new playground

MARIGOT--With children and education at the core of its criteria for grants, Island Gems Charity Foundation recently played a part in the acquisition of a specialised playground for the Service d'Education Speciale et de Soins a Domicile SESSAD. The organisation, located in the heart of Marigot offers special education with care at home for some fifty children, ages five to 15.

Island Gems, the island's oldest and all-women charity, was approached via its Vice President Karine Fleming to participate in the project to acquire a new playground Read more

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Parliament committees to look into French/Dutch joint issues

Representatives of the French side Territorial Council with Members of Parliament in Parliament House on Tuesday.

PHILIPSBURG--A meeting between the French side Territorial Council and Members of Parliament (MPs) in Parliament House on Tuesday resulted in various topics discussed being sent to Parliament’s permanent committees for further deliberation and solution seeking.

Among the topics discussed was pensioners living on the French side, but who have contributed to the Dutch side’s General Pension Fund by working on the southern side of the island accessing their benefits Read more

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Fire at eco-landfill site brought under control

MARIGOT--An extensive fire that started in the interior of the eco-landfill site in Grand Cayes, Cul-de-Sac, on Tuesday at 9:00pm was finally contained late Wednesday afternoon after reinforcements were brought in, the Préfecture disclosed.

Fanned by a strong easterly wind the fire began to spread towards the residential areas of Cul-de-Sac and Anse Marcel. Despite the efforts of the French side firemen during the night the fire could not be extinguished and focus was put on protecting houses closest to the fire Read more

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Betaille: ‘Outlook bleak for solving juvenile delinquency in St. Martin’

MARIGOT--Commandant of the Gendarmerie in St. Martin and St. Barths Paul Betaille said Tuesday that French St. Martin is blighted by delinquency despite a number of Collectivité training programmes and incentive schemes aimed at the youth. He noted the situation could only improve with dedicated political will and deep analysis of the situation.

Speaking at a gathering and cocktail party in La Savane to mark his departure in August for a new posting, Betaille remarked that "delinquency is ingrained in the local culture," adding young St Read more

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