Editing Saint Pierre and Miquelon (section)

==Politics==
{{main|Politics of Saint Pierre and Miquelon}}

Since March 2003, Saint Pierre and Miquelon has been an overseas collectivity with a special status.<ref name="cia"/> The archipelago has two [[Communes of France|communes]]: [[Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon|Saint-Pierre]] and [[Miquelon-Langlade]].<ref name="sodepar-statut">{{cite web |url=http://www.sodepar.com/fr/16-statut-specifique.html |title=Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, Statut spécifique |publisher=Sodepar |access-date=8 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109093934/http://www.sodepar.com/fr/16-statut-specifique.html |archive-date=9 November 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A third commune, [[Isle-aux-Marins]], existed until 1945, when it was absorbed by the municipality of Saint-Pierre.<ref name="1999-insee-731"/> The inhabitants possess [[French citizenship]] and suffrage.<ref name="brit-1"/> Saint Pierre and Miquelon sends a senator and a [[Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon's 1st constituency|deputy]] to the [[National Assembly of France]] in Paris and enjoys a degree of autonomy concerning taxes, customs, and excise.<ref name="gb-16">{{Google books|fXZaLhmVt2IC|page=97|The French Atlantic: travels in culture and history}} By Bill Marshall</ref><ref name="cia"/>

France appoints the [[prefect of Saint Pierre and Miquelon]], who represents the national government in the territory.<ref name="bbc-sm"/> The prefect is in charge of national interests, law enforcement, public order, and, under the conditions set by the statute of 1985, administrative control.<ref name="pref">{{cite web |url=http://www.saint-pierre-et-miquelon.pref.gouv.fr/sections/services_de_letat/la_prefecture |title=La préfecture |publisher=Portail internet des services de l'État |date=7 December 2008 |access-date=8 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401225227/http://www.saint-pierre-et-miquelon.pref.gouv.fr/sections/services_de_letat/la_prefecture/ |archive-date=1 April 2012 }}</ref> Since 21 August 2023, the prefect has been Bruno André.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 August 2023 |title=Pour Bruno André, préfet de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, "il s'agit de poursuivre ce qui a été fait" dans l'archipel |url=https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/saintpierremiquelon/pour-bruno-andre-prefet-de-saint-pierre-et-miquelon-il-s-agit-de-poursuivre-ce-qui-a-ete-fait-dans-l-archipel-1422725.html |access-date=27 October 2024 |website=Saint-Pierre et Miquelon la 1ère |language=fr-FR |archive-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223050219/https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/saintpierremiquelon/pour-bruno-andre-prefet-de-saint-pierre-et-miquelon-il-s-agit-de-poursuivre-ce-qui-a-ete-fait-dans-l-archipel-1422725.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The local legislative body, the [[Territorial Council of Saint Pierre and Miquelon|Territorial Council]] ({{langx|fr|link=no|Conseil territorial}}), has 19 members: four councillors from Miquelon-Langlade and 15 from Saint-Pierre.<ref name="sodepar-statut"/><ref name="cia"/> The President of the Territorial Council is the head of a delegation of "France in the name of Saint Pierre and Miquelon" for international events such as the annual meetings of [[Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization|NAFO]] and [[ICCAT]].<ref name="sodepar-statut"/>
===Defence and ''gendarmerie''===
France is responsible for the defence of the islands.<ref name="cia"/> The [[List of active French Navy ships|French Navy]] has maintained a patrol boat, the ex-trawler [[List of active French Navy ships#Coastguard|''Fulmar'']], in the region since 1997.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ca.ambafrance.org/French-patrol-ship-Fulmar-port |title=French patrol ship Fulmar: Port visit to Rimouski and Québec |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-date=25 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725185756/https://ca.ambafrance.org/French-patrol-ship-Fulmar-port |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Law enforcement in Saint Pierre and Miquelon]] is the responsibility of a branch of the French [[National Gendarmerie|Gendarmerie Nationale]]; there are two police stations in the archipelago.<ref name="Prefecture site">{{cite web |url=http://www.saint-pierre-et-miquelon.pref.gouv.fr/sections/services_de_letat/les_services_deconcentres/la_gendarmerie_natio/ |title=La Gendarmerie Nationale |publisher=Portail internet des services de l'Etat |date=24 February 2011 |access-date=8 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412032658/http://www.saint-pierre-et-miquelon.pref.gouv.fr/sections/services_de_letat/les_services_deconcentres/la_gendarmerie_natio |archive-date=12 April 2012 }}</ref>

===Maritime boundary case===
{{main|Canada–France Maritime Boundary Case}}
[[File:Saint-Pierre and Miquelon EEZ map-en.svg|thumb|Map of the [[exclusive economic zone]] of Saint Pierre and Miquelon]]

France claimed a {{convert|200|nmi|adj=on}} [[exclusive economic zone]] for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and in August 1983 the naval ship ''[[D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso|Lieutenant de vaisseau Le Hénaff]]'' and the seismic ship ''Lucien Beaufort'' were sent to explore for oil in the disputed zone.<ref name="gb-13"/> In addition to the potential oil reserves, [[Cod fishing in Newfoundland|cod fishing]] rights on the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland]] were at stake in the dispute. In the late 1980s, indications of declining fish stocks began to raise serious concern over the depletion of the fishery.<ref name="gb-13">{{Google books|MSHy65g7M7wC|page=32|Canadian foreign policy: defining the national interest}} By Steven Kendall Holloway</ref> In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the islands an exclusive economic zone of {{convert|12348|sqkm}} to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents only 25% of what France had sought.<ref name="cia"/>

The 1992 decision fixed the maritime boundaries between Canada and the islands, but did not demarcate the [[continental shelf]].<ref name="economist">{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/13611528 |title=St Pierre and Miquelon – Squaring off for a seabed scrap |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=7 May 2009 |access-date=8 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909172525/http://www.economist.com/node/13611528 |archive-date=9 September 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>