Martinique

Where is Martinique?

Martinique is an island nation.

The capital city of Martinique is Fort-de-France, found on the west coast of the island. The city is the major metropolitan area with a population of just under a hundred thousand people. Fort-de-France has been the capital city of Martinique since 1680 and is today one of the major cities of the Caribbean. The climate of Fort-de-France is rather stable, which includes a rainy winter and a dry season, along with a substantial amount of rainfall occurring in all months. Fort-de-France has rejuvenated itself becoming a popular tourist destination, particularly, because of major attractions such as the great Fort St-Louis, the Le Vieux Foyal, the Bibliotheque Schoelcher, Le Yellow, and more.

Martinique is a North American country covering 1,128.00 km².. Fort-de-France is the capital city.

Its ISO code is MQ.

Martinique has a mean elevation of 0 m above sea level.

Martinique has two predominant languages: French and Creole. French is the official language used in government, school and general media, whereas Creole is mainly used in informal communication. Like any other language, Creole has its own distinct features like the unique numbering system. Several other minority languages exist which are mostly spoken by immigrants, among them is English which is becoming a necessity for a thriving tourism industry.

The dialing code for the country is 596.

The currency of Martinique is the Euro (EUR).

Martinique is one of the overseas constituents of France. It is administered using the governmental system of that country. The parliament has two houses: the National Assembly and the Senate. Four officials from Martinique represent the island in the National Assembly in France while two others represent the Senate. Locally, the parliament of Martinique has two main councils: the Regional Council made up of 45 members, and the General Council made up of 41 members. The regional council handles matters regarding education, roads, transportation, housing, and general infrastructure while the General Council directs social, economic, cultural, sanitary and scientific development issues. There are four administrative divisions in Martinique, each headed by an elected municipal council. Elections in the island are held after every six years for the Executive Council and every four years for the General Council. Eligible voters should have minimum age of 18 and above while candidates vying for political seats should be 23 years and above

Flag

The island of Martinique is a French territorial collectivity, and therefore its official flag is the national flag of France. This flag is made up of three vertical bands of the same width of the colors blue, white and red. It was adopted as the French National flag in 1794 after the success of the French Revolution. The colors are thought to symbolize the three elements of the Revolution’s motto, which are freedom, equality, and brotherhood. It is also believed that the choice of colors was from a combination of the Parisian flag, which were red and blue and the color of the Royal Standard which was white. The snake flag of Martinique is the unofficial flag of the island, and it is widely used. The military, the local gendarmes, and public buildings fly the flag. It was adopted after the issuing of an edict in 1766 to have the vessels of the islands of Martinique and St Lucia adopt a version of the French insignia which was a white cross on a blue background. To make it distinctive the two islands a snake and the Martinique lancehead was added to each of the four quarters. The island also flies the flag of the European Union.