Territorial Council: and life goes on
This is a much-anticipated regional council meeting, due to take place on Friday 13 November, as it is the first since the upheaval caused by the senatorial elections. The agenda lists 15 items, but four draft resolutions, submitted by six regional councillors and supported by eleven elected representatives, have been omitted.
On 23 October, these elected representatives exercised the prerogative set out in Article LO 6321-11 of the General Code of Local Authorities. The meeting was convened on the requested date, with fifteen items on the agenda. Their four proposals were absent from the agenda, without any explanation having been provided to them. This raises, for the six councillors, the question of respect for the prerogatives of elected representatives and the role of the Territorial Council in the functioning of the institutions.
These deliberations concern the Territorial Council’s resumption of powers delegated to the Executive Council; the representation of the Collectivity within SEMSAMAR (bringing an end to current roles, including that of the 2nd Vice-President, Alain Richardson); the appointment of the Territorial Council’s representatives to the Executive Committee of the Tourist Office and the appointment of its chair—namely the replacement of the current chair, Valérie Damaseau—and, finally, the last item on the agenda: the Beauperthuy land issue.
On 2 November, a letter signed by the eleven elected representatives was sent to President Mussington asking him for a specific legal justification for their exclusion from the agenda, with a copy sent to the Prefect of Saint Martin. A written and reasoned response was requested within 24 hours of its receipt. The territorial councillors believe that ‘chairing the Territorial Council does not mean deciding alone which questions deserve to be asked. It means ensuring that the institutions remain at the service of all those they represent.’
New loans, job creation, legal protection…
Among the items on the agenda, in addition to various tax measures, the replacement of a member of the Executive Council, etc., are the granting of functional immunity to Louis Mussington in anticipation of his trials in January 2027, amendments to the staffing table with the creation of new permanent posts, and two items concerning the adoption of Saint Martin’s future flag.
The creation of a new committee, this time in connection with the adoption of the tax reform framework, will be put to a vote by elected representatives, as will the adoption of the 2026–2028 Code of Ethics and Procurement Policy and the partnership agreement relating to social inclusion clauses in public procurement between the Collectivité and Semsamar, etc. The Concordia Media Centre, due to be completed this November 2026, and the Grand Case House of Associations are once again on the agenda. These two projects will require loans from the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations: a ‘Territorial Cohesion Loan’ of €500,000 for the Maison des Associations and an ‘Ecological Transformation Loan’ of €3,236,420 to finance the media centre (in addition to €3 million from the European Investment Fund and €3 million from the State). We will return to all these points in detail following this territorial council meeting, which promises to be eventful.
