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Prevention The Keyword For Internal Security Open Day

MARIGOT--The Préfecture organised its annual internal security open day in collaboration with the Collectivité for the first time in Grand Case in the car park of the Cultural Centre on Friday.

As usual this particular day shines the spotlight on the services that keep the population safe, day in day out all year round.

Organised in the form of an exhibition with information stands and demonstrations added for dramatic effect, the objective is to spread awareness of the role each service plays.

Those participating included the Gendarmerie, the French Red Cross, Police aux Frontières, Territorial Police, Fire Brigade (Sapeurs Pompiers) and the French-side sea rescue service SNSM.

Scores of school children attended the open day as focus is on getting a message of safety and prevention out to the youth Read more

Discussion About Joint Sewage Plant Continues

COLE BAY--Prime Minister William Marlin and a delegation of Government officials met with Préfète Déléguée Anne Laubies, representatives of the Collectivité of St. Martin and Louis Fleming to discuss the Territorial Cooperation Programme for St Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister TEATT Ingrid Arrindell announced that the French and Dutch authorities are currently working on regulating public transportation especially buses that are from the Dutch side that are using the trans-border to work on the French side. Minister Arrindell said that the French authorities clearly pointed out that the bus drivers from the Dutch side does not respect the rules and regulations while on the French side, one being they stop anywhere and not at the bus stops. They do not use the designated turn around area and also does not stick within their routes.
The Minister said when the agreement is completed they intend to give 30 bus drivers from the Dutch side the rights to work on the French side, these bus drivers must hold the Dutch nationality, and when approved they will be given an identification card and sticker to place on their buses.
Minister Arrindell said the two sides are currently working on regulating the Marigot route but shortly after that the French Quarter route will also be regulated Read more

>Airport:--- Dignitaries from both sides of the island including Anguilla attended the opening ceremony of the renovated departure lounge at the Princess Juliana International Airport on Wednesday evening. Special Projects Coordinator Robert Brown gave an outline to the large gathering how management of PJIAE decided to upgrade the airport beginning with the departure lounge Read more

Collectivité addresses grievances after unrest at Cul-de-Sac School

MARIGOT--A delegation of Collectivité and education officials met with parents at the Cul-de- Sac Primary School on Tuesday morning in an attempt to explain the reasoning and functioning of the “carte scolaire”, the system of allocating a school based on where the child lives.

A collective of some 15 angry parents, who claim the system is not managed properly, locked the school gates with a padlock on Friday. Parents cannot understand that if their children live in Cul-de Sac why they are sent to school in Grand Case, or why children in Orient Bay are sent to school in Marigot instead of French Quarter etc.

Some parents had also accused the principal of the school of slapping misbehaving children and reported this to the Gendarmerie, which subsequently opened an investigation and interviewed some of the pupils Read more

style="text-align: center;">General Meeting to be held on Tuesday.

Cul de Sac: --- Parents and several residents of Cul de Sac gave the directress, workers and the other parents a surprise Friday morning when they placed huge locks at the Cul de Sac Elementary school, blocking access to the school. As the parents arrived at the school with their children they were all left outside wondering what was happening since they claim not to know that there are grievances among the school population Read more

Hanson re-confirms decisions of President Hollande during visit

MARIGOT--In her first reaction to President François Hollande's official visit on Friday, President Aline Hanson first thanked the population for giving the Head of State a cordial welcome. Many people had lined the roads from Grand Case, La Savane, Rambaud and Cripple Gate to wave to the motorcade as it passed.

The President in turn reciprocated by chatting with well-wishers on his arrival at Hotel de la Collectivité.

Hanson said she was pleased with the outcome of the Presidential visit Read more

First of the new St. Martin driving licences delivered

 MARIGOT--The first batch of the new credit card-type St. Martin driving licences have arrived and are ready to be distributed as of today, it was announced at a press conference on Friday.

The batch of 475 licences include 149 that are first time issues for new drivers, 93 that are duplicates, 114 that have been exchanged i.e. residents of St. Martin who were issued with a St. Maarten licence, and 119 that fall into a conversion category (changing from military licence to civil licence etc.) Read more

‘Non-existent’ pipe caused sewage spill into marina

OYSTER POND--A mystery overflow pipe that does not feature in the sewage and drainage plans of Etablissement des Eaux et Assainissement de St. Martin (EEASM) was the cause of the recent sewage spill into the pond at Captain Oliver's Marina, EEASM president Louis Fleming disclosed Monday.

"The pipe has now been blocked by the maintenance company Général des Eaux and there should not be any re-occurrence," Fleming said Read more

French-side sewage leak contaminating Dutch side

PHILIPSBURG--A "significant" amount of sewage run-off from a large French side public septic tank has been flowing into Oyster Pond and contaminating waters on the Dutch side at "an alarming rate" since last week, reported Nature Foundation on Tuesday. Up to fifty litres or more per day of raw sewage is estimated to be flowing into Oyster Pond.

The sewage flow was documented by the foundation. Water quality tests were conducted to directly determine the composition of the effluent entering Oyster Pond Read more

Mayotte Delegation on visit to Collectivité

MARIGOT--A delegation of high-ranking technicians from the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean has been on a three-day visit to St. Martin to discuss issues common to both territories as well as issues related to Europe, Ultra Peripheral Regions RUP and to exchange information.

The delegation comprised Jacques Toto, Secretary-General in charge of General and Human Resources, Assistant Cabinet Director for European Affairs Dayane Saïd Mohamed, and Chargé de Mission RUP and European Affairs, Adrachi Velou.

President of the Conseil Général was not able to make the trip due to other commitments.

The delegation arrived Saturday from Guadeloupe where they attended the 20th conference of RUP territories Read more

USA’s Arconada wins Women’s International Tennis Tournament

MARIGOT—Tournament top seed Victoria Bosio from Argentina fell to the unseeded American Usue Maitane Arconada in a riveting Women's Singles Final played at the Alberic Richards Stadium courts on Sunday where the Argentinian struggled with three medical time-outs.

Arconada (16), ranked 22 in the Junior World Rankings, won 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 on the shady No.3 court chosen over the usual No. 1 court. The match was marked by long, powerful baseline rallies. The first set was closely fought but in the second set Bosio found her rhythm again to win it comfortably before having to call the physiotherapist at 3-0 down in the final set for massages and later a twisted ankle Read more

Hundreds gather at vigil for Charlie Hebdo victims

MARIGOT--The brutal massacre of journalists and cartoonists at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday has generated an outpouring of sympathy and solidarity amongst the public in French St. Martin.

Such is the power of social media that organisers of a vigil held at Marina Fort Louis at 6:00pm Thursday managed to gather around 400 persons in record time to pay homage to the victims.

Echomag Editor Laurent Fuentes was one of three organisers behind the spontaneous event Read more

Majority adopts Urban Code at Council meeting

MARIGOT--The majority party adopted the new Urban Code at the year’s last Territorial Council meeting on Thursday despite the Opposition voicing several concerns before abstaining on the vote. The Code will now come into effect on March 1, 2015.

The vote followed the public meeting and presentation on December 4 with the specialist and editor of the Code, Philippe Baffert. On December 5 technicians correlated the Urban Code project with the Plan Local Urbanisme (PLU) and on December 9 the urbanism commission harmonised further aspects of the Code.

Since April 2012 St Read more

Collectivité inaugurates bus terminal in Marigot

MARIGOT--The central bus terminal in Marigot on Rue de Hollande was inaugurated Thursday afternoon in the presence of President Aline Hanson, and other elected officials and representatives from bus transport associations on both sides of the island.

The facility, named in honour of retired bus driver Antoine Julien Gumbs, is being used on a daily basis since its completion a few months ago Read more

Dutch, French to do joint health study, launch health observatory

~ 'Diseases don't stop at the border' ~

CONCORDIA--Dutch St. Maarten and French St. Martin health officials launched a regional Health Observatory on Friday and announced plans to embark on a joint public health study to assess the health situation amongst the population on both sides of the island.

Some work has already begun under the Health Observatory, which is based initially at the Louis Constant Fleming Hospital in French St Read more