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French Quarter protest prompts immediate Gendarmerie patrols

MARIGOT--Extra Gendarmerie and Police patrols, both mobile and foot patrols, in the area of French Quarter where fires have been occurring for the past two months, will be implemented with immediate effect.

This was one of the measures taken at an hour-long emergency meeting between elected officials of the Collectivité, Social Services, Préfecture, Gendarmerie, Territorial Police and French Quarter District representatives during Wednesday’s protest over lack of security in the district.

District Representative Steven Patrick reported that the family of eight, evicted back in September, whose children were long suspected of causing the fires, was due to be relocated to French Cul-de-Sac Wednesday afternoon from temporary accommodation in French Quarter.

“I think by just getting this family out of the neighbourhood will calm a lot of nerves,” said Patrick.

The family that lost their house in Tuesday’s fire meanwhile are staying in a guest house organised by the Collectivité until alternative accommodation can be found.

The Vice-Prosecutor will also be reviewing the files of the suspects, mostly minors, to see if further action can be taken in terms of transferring them to special institutions or correctional facilities in Guadeloupe.

“We learnt that one of the kids admitted involvement in one of the fires, and his case comes up in November,” Patrick disclosed Read more

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French Quarter residents block main road over lack of security

~ Nerves frayed after district suffers 13 fires in two months ~

MARIGOT--The main RN7 road just outside French Quarter at Angel's Insurance was blocked for nearly five hours Wednesday morning as residents demanded accountability from authorities over lack of security in the district following a series of 13 fires in the span of less than two months.

Long lines of cars built up as motorists from both directions were forced to turn around.

A phantom arsonist appears to be at work and the fact that no suspects have been positively identified as perpetrators of the crimes has left residents on tenterhooks, wondering who will be the next victim.

Tensions boiled over after a wooden house on Route de La Saline burnt down Tuesday afternoon, destroying three cars and leaving a family of six homeless Read more

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Invest Caribbean Now 2015 Makes Splashy Opening In Terres Basses, St. Martin

NEW YORK, NY - Invest Caribbean Now 2015 entered its fifth year last night with a splashy opening ceremony at the prestigious Villa Mes Aimes in Terres Basses area of Saint Martin, West Indies.

Top government and local VIPS joined 41 Chinese delegates and several other overseas delegates for the opening reception and dinner which also included the presentation of the ICN 2015 Leadership Award.

A St. Martin tourism pioneer who was attracted to the sector at age 12 and went on to serve the island as a deputy mayor and creator of the Syndicat d’Initiatives, the precursor to the current Saint Martin Office of Tourism, was the ICN 2015 Leadership Award winner.
Romeo Fleming, head of the Romeo Fleming Group of Companies, which includes the current Hertz Rent a Car on St Read more

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Chinese delegation impressed with island’s ‘beauty, ethnicity’

MARIGOT--“The competitive nature of the global market place demands that we act global and think global. We must sell our assets of stability, ease of access and ease of doing business.”

Those were some of the remarks made by Founder and CEO of Invest Caribbean Now (ICN), Felicia Persaud, in her keynote address at Friday’s exclusive invitation-only conference in the Chamber of Commerce on the theme “Investing in St. Martin’s Tourism Product”.

“Partnerships, collaborations, linkages, networking…that’s the key to the success of businesses, economies, governments, because from where I sit there is no way that any government on any island is smart enough to do it alone,” she added Read more

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Invest Caribbean Now 2015 to shine spotlight on investment opportunities

MARIGOT--President of St. Martin Tourism Office, Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool, said she will be showcasing infrastructural and other opportunities to interested investors at the Invest Caribbean Now conference in St. Martin on September 25.

"As we gear up for the launch of our new Five Year Tourism Master Plan, we are excited to speak to investors about ideas and opportunities that are available,” she added, noting among the major projects available are the expansion of port services, the Marigot Bay Development Project and other tourism-related opportunities that fall within the Marigot Revitalisation project.

"Investment opportunities both inside and outside of these major projects include, among other projects, resorts, hotels, marinas, conference facilities, theme parks, nature parks, shopping centres and shipping related activities," President Rogers-Vanterpool pointed out.

A delegation of more than 40-Beijing companies including Showland Investment Group Corp Read more

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Eviction drama exposes failings in French law to protect landlords

MARIGOT--French Quarter resident Daniella Chance Glasgow and her brother Marcel never could have imagined six years ago how difficult it would be to evict a tenant from one of their properties. If they had, they undoubtedly would have changed their minds.

Despite landlord Marcel Glasgow following procedures under French law to evict tenant Daphne Doyle (38), a Trinidad national, her companion and eight children from a two-bedroom house at #62 Around the Pond after the landlord/tenant relationship deteriorated three years ago, it took a mobilisation of neighbours, a blocked road and the intervention of Gendarmes to finally remove Doyle on Friday.

Frustration and concern for the property boiled over after a series of fires were lit over the space of a few days, allegedly by the tenant’s 14-year-old son, causing extensive damage Read more

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Collectivité to seek legal counsel regarding Semsamar indictments

MARIGOT--The Territorial Council on Thursday authorised President Aline Hanson to obtain legal representation over the recent indictments handed down by the court on the present and former Director Generals of Semsamar in case the Collectivité is implicated in any way by virtue of being a 51 per cent shareholder of the company.

The motion was passed by the majority, however, Wendel Cocks who is President of the Semsamar board and other board members had to leave the room before the vote was taken.

Hanson said the Collectivité does not have access to the file and needs to have a specialist lawyer to represent the Collectivité as a precaution.

“The objective is for the Collectivité to be directly informed on elements of the case, not to come into conflict with Semsamar,” she said Read more

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French side to be fully connected with high-speed Internet by 2020

MARIGOT--The Collectivité is drawing on the support of the State to have all French-side residents and businesses entirely connected to high-speed Internet by 2020 or 2022, it was announced at a press conference convened by Vice-President Wendel Cocks on Thursday.

The Collectivité is taking advantage of funds available through Plan France Très Haut Débit, a national scheme to have all of France, including overseas territories, connected with high-speed Internet by 2022 Read more

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Semsamar managing directors past and present under judicial control

MARIGOT--Director General of Semsamar Marie-Paule Bélénus-Romana and her predecessor Jean-Paul Fischer were taken into 48-hour custody in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, on Monday, where they were placed under judicial control and "mise en examen."

On Wednesday, they appeared before a Judge of Instruction. The Judge's decision was based on "suspicion of conflicts of interest, misappropriation of funds and favouritism."

The development is the latest in a three-year investigation into the operations of Semsamar, and follows various revelations that emerged from the so-called Milos report and audit of the company Read more

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Semsamar announces plans for its 30th anniversary celebration

MARIGOT--The Semsamar board announced a number of events will take place in June for its 30th anniversary celebration at a press conference Monday.

The mixed capital company was formed by public and private partnerships on June 20, 1985, and now operates in St. Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and French Guiana.

The anniversary will not only highlight Semsamar’s achievements over 30 years in the development of St. Martin but also promote its social objectives. As President Wendel Cocks points out, the company is not only concerned with construction of housing but equally interested in enhancing the way of life for tenants and residents in housing through social programmes and activities Read more

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Semsamar gives tour of social housing projects

MARIGOT--Officials from mixed-capital company Semsamar including its President Wendel Cocks gave the media a tour on Friday of some of the ongoing social housing projects in Concordia and French Quarter, including an overview of maintenance in existing residences.

A recent development has been the realisation of eight playgrounds in the different homes that have been financed 50 per cent by Semsamar and 50 per cent by Caisse Allocation Familiale (CAF).

Cocks explained the housing schemes each have their own tenants associations that include a member from Semsamar which enables the company to get feedback on needs and social activities in each area Read more

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Grégoire Ratchel honoured in traditional Fish Day ceremony

MARIGOT--Retired fisherman Grégoire Ratchel was honoured by the Collectivité for his lifelong contribution to the community at the opening of the 13th Annual Fish Day celebration in French Cul-de-Sac on Sunday.

He was presented with a plaque by First Vice-President Guillaume Arnell and Vice-President Wendel Cocks Read more

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Annual Fish Day

~ From the Sea to the Pot ~

A huge turnout is expected once again on Sunday, May 3, for the extremely popular Fish Day cultural extravaganza, now in its 13th year at French Cul-de-Sac Bay. The day-long schedule of activities, starting at 7am with the fish and conch sale and ending at 10pm, promises to be a fun-filled family occasion, reminiscent of days gone by. Everyone is welcome to spend the day, meet up with friends and family, enjoy the music, food and drinks; become a part of the village community and be entertained by the island's talented artistes.

The official opening commences at 9:30am with a tribute to St Read more

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Dumont wins Nagico to Nagico cycle race overall by one second

MARIGOT--VCG's Nicolas Dumont won the Classement General of the 2015 Nagico to Nagico Cycle race by the slimmest of margins, just one second, in 5:34:51, it emerged after the finish of Sunday's last race in Rue de La République, Marigot, in front of the Nagico office.

ASBM's Luis Sablon from Guadeloupe was second overall in the Classement (5:34:52) with USR Vélo's Giovanni Rousseau, also from Guadeloupe, taking third overall (5:35:47).

Sunday's 123K race was won by ASBM's Adam Pierzga in 3:15:7, a clear 41 seconds in front of Luis Sablon, while Miguel Ubeto took third to make it a clean sweep on the podium for ABSM Read more

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Top cyclists gathering for 3rd Nagico to Nagico Race

MARIGOT—The region's top cycling teams are set to contest this coming weekend's third edition of the Nagico to Nagico Cycling Race that starts Friday with a 2.5K time trial.

An overview of the race was provided Monday evening at a press conference convened by Velo Club de Grand Case (VCG) and attended by cycling fan Préfet Philippe Chopin, Vice-President Wendel Cocks, Territorial Councillor in charge of sports, Alain Gros-Desormeaux, as well as representatives from main sponsor Nagico.

Registration was not yet complete for the race but it was estimated some 60 riders would be competing from Guadeloupe, Martinique, Anguilla, French Guiana and St Read more

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First 11 guesthouses receive star ratings by Collectivité

MARIGOT--Plaques were presented by elected officials at a ceremony on Friday to proprietors of the first eleven guesthouses that were classified and rated by the Collectivité in 2014.

The awards bring guesthouses into focus with a guarantee of quality while diversifying the hospitality sector's range of accommodation options available to tourists.

The guesthouses have a maximum 10 rooms or less and received ratings from one star to five stars. Each star a guesthouse earns comes with the guarantee that a set of standards has been met and in some cases surpassed.

In the French system guesthouses are not classified, but the Collectivité decided in February 2014 to adopt a classification system for St Read more

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Biodiversity Institute planned for Réserve Naturelle in 2017

MARIGOT--A 1.5 million-euro Institute of Biodiversity is one of the exciting future projects Réserve Naturelle is engaged in as part of the development contract between Collectivité and State, it was disclosed at a press conference hosted by Réserve Naturelle on Thursday in Anse Marcel.

Feasibility studies are close to completion for the project and State representative Romain Perreau confirmed that 1.5 million euros has been set aside for its creation. The Institute, however, is not expected to be inaugurated before 2017.

Réserve Naturelle Director Nicolas Maslach said the institute will combine elements of research institute, environmental awareness and eco-tourism while its objective will be to improve the knowledge of ecosystems in St Read more

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Hundreds gather at vigil for Charlie Hebdo victims

MARIGOT--The brutal massacre of journalists and cartoonists at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday has generated an outpouring of sympathy and solidarity amongst the public in French St. Martin.

Such is the power of social media that organisers of a vigil held at Marina Fort Louis at 6:00pm Thursday managed to gather around 400 persons in record time to pay homage to the victims.

Echomag Editor Laurent Fuentes was one of three organisers behind the spontaneous event Read more

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VCG announces teams ahead of 2015 season

MARIGOT—Velo Club de Grand Case (VCG) held its General Assembly on Monday at which the board went over the 2013 accounts, modified the statutes and reviewed the 2014 racing season and results, before announcing the teams for 2015.

Vice-President of the Collectivité Wendel Cocks, MP Daniel Gibbs, representative from main sponsor Dauphin Telecom, Philippe Morel, and President of the Territorial Cycling Federation Rigobert Benjamin were among audience members for the meeting that was chaired by VCG President St Read more

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