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While the Saint-Barthélemy patron saint's day is intended to be a time of unity, gathering and festivities, every year it marks an important milestone in the life of citizens: the start of the political year. The speeches delivered on Saturday August 24 at the Hôtel de la Collectivité Territoriale, following the official ceremony in front of the war memorial, were a perfect illustration of this. Whether it was the speech by President Xavier Lédée, that of Senator Micheline Jacques or the words spoken by Frantz Gumbs, Member of Parliament for the Northern Islands, they all bore the hallmarks of the resumption of political debate. Both locally and nationally.
"A solid mid-term review
The President of the Collectivité was the first to take to the microphone. It was an ideal platform for Xavier Lédée, eager to take stock of "his" term of office as it reached its halfway point. For just over twenty minutes, the elected official reviewed all the work that has been undertaken or accomplished since his election as head of the Collectivité in March 2022. Regional cooperation, institutional autonomy, the tourism economy, education and training, development and works, housing, safety, sustainable development - the president methodically unrolled the long list of recurring themes whenever the issues of daily life in Saint-Barthélemy are raised.
The only real announcement made by Xavier Lédée was that the project to relocate the Gustavia school group to Saint-Jean would be relaunched. This project was launched during the previous term of office of President Bruno Magras, but was rejected by the new territorial majority just a few months after taking office. Since then, studies have been carried out into the impact of such a relocation on traffic. At the same time, the territorial council announced that the project would be relaunched on a neighbouring site, still in Saint-Jean. However, almost two years after the project was shelved, it is indeed the original project that is to be revived by the President. Two wasted years, say President Lédée's detractors, who don't care. "The aim is to lay the foundation stone for the Saint-Jean schools in the 3rd quarter of 2025", declared the elected official, who would like to see, behind the Saint-Jean stadium, the construction of a new school.Behind the Saint-Jean stadium, he hopes to see "a fully inclusive school that places nature and sustainable development at the heart of its architecture".
On several occasions during his speech, the Chairman took care to reiterate that he was "fully" assuming his responsibilities and the decisions that may have been taken since the beginning of the term of office. "Today, I can present a solid mid-term report, without any complacency," he declared.
"Our political life is fractured
Following a speech by the President of the Collectivité de Saint-Martin, Louis Mussington, who paid tribute to Bruno Magras and reaffirmed his desire ties between the two islands, and that of Guy Losbar, President of the Guadeloupe General Council, Senator Micheline Jacques took the stage. For a speech that could not have been more political.
In all sincerity, this August 24 is not a day for celebration," said the senator. Neither the national nor the local political situation is conducive to celebration (...) Our political life is fractured as never before in the 5th Republic (...) At local level, the situation is as we know it. "Without going into further detail, Micheline Jacques reminded her audience that Saint-Barthélemy's status protects its population from many constraints and other setbacks. And she hammered home her commitment to the island's development as a senator and president of the Senate's Overseas France group.
For his part, after a facetious introduction of which he is a master, MP Frantz Gumbs plunged the audience into national political life. "In the absence of an operational government, we'll have to mobilize all our networks to move our issues forward", he said.
Vincent Berton, Delegate Prefect for Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, was obviously true to his role as representative of the State. Once again, he reiterated that there was no desire to "take over" Saint-Barthélemy by undermining its status. He also affirmed his determination to combat insecurity in Saint-Barth, where, he declared, "it's not a question of numbers, but of feelings". The urgent need to make use of the 4.7 million euros allocated to Saint-Barthélemy as part of the Ségur de la santé program, and to "take hold" of the housing issue, were the main points of Vincent Berton's speech.
The next public meeting between the elected representatives of Saint-Barthélemy will take place on Thursday, September 5, at the Conseil territorial de rentrée. It's an opportunity to take the pulse of an assembly that has been slowly burning itself out over the past few months.
