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At the end of March, Frantz Gumbs, Member of Parliament for Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, took part in a meeting at the Ministry of Culture to " address the structural challenges and lack of recognition of the cultural specificities" of the northern islands (JSB 1610). At the end of the meeting, the parliamentarian put forward the idea of setting up a Department of Cultural Affairs for Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, so as to no longer be dependent on the Guadeloupe Dac, as is currently the case. A prospect that did not go down well with the Saint-Barth d'Abord group of local elected representatives, who, through their leader Alexandra Questel, made it known that "the proposal for a shared Dac corresponds neither to the needs nor the philosophy of governance" of Saint-Barth. This is not the position adopted by the elected members of the Action-Équilibre group.
"The "culture" remit cannot be summed up in a budget line".
In fact, in a letter sent to Deputy Gumbs, Bettina Cointre (second vice-president of the territorial council and chairwoman of the Culture Commission) believes that the parliamentarian's proposal is relevant. She explains: "The Collectivités of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy are dependent on decisions taken by the Dac Guadeloupe regarding archaeological excavations and the classification of buildings.ological excavations and the classification of buildings, which, given their geographical remoteness, can take a long time and waste a lot of time. If we have understood your approach correctly, and following the same logic as the State, which has just created a fully-fledged prefecture grouping together the two collectivities, it would be beneficial for the people of Guadeloupe to be able to benefit from the same services.s, it would be beneficial for both communities if the State were to create a Department of Cultural Affairs. The Collectivité and the Dac can work together to promote culture in general, and share it with as many people as possible. "In Bettina Cointre's view, this cooperation would not jeopardize the local activities of the Culture Commission, which she insists is "very active" and supports numerous projects with associations thanks to the resources granted by the Collectivité. "For us, the "culture" remit cannot be summed up in a budget line, but rather in promoting the richness that all the territories of the Republic have to offer.For us, the responsibility for culture cannot be summed up in a budget line, but rather in making known the richness offered by all the territories of the Republic, while reacting rapidly to the administrative procedures of the Dac", assures the elected representative, who writes to Deputy Gumbs: "Your proposal seems to go in the right direction and we thank you for it. "
For Frantz Gumbs, if such a system were to be deployed in the Northern Isles, the Dac would exercise the same powers as the regional office in Guadeloupe. The only difference would be that it would be entirely dedicated to the heritage and cultural concerns of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy.
