Economic, Social and Territorial Situation of French Guiana
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DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIESB POLICY DEPARTMENT AgricultureAgriculture and Rural and Development Rural Development STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES B CultureCulture and Education and Education Role The Policy Departments are research units that provide specialised advice Fisheries to committees, inter-parliamentary delegations and other parliamentary bodies. Fisheries RegionalRegional Development Development Policy Areas TransportTransport and andTourism Tourism Agriculture and Rural Development Culture and Education Fisheries Regional Development Transport and Tourism Documents Visit the European Parliament website: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies PHOTO CREDIT: iStock International Inc., Photodisk, Phovoir DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND TERRITORIAL SITUATION OF FRENCH GUIANA NOTE This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development. AUTHORS Marek KOŁODZIEJSKI Kathrin RUDOLF Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE Lea Poljančić LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN ABOUT THE EDITOR To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its monthly newsletter please write to: [email protected] Manuscript completed in October 2011. Brussels, © European Union, 2011. This document is available on the Internet at: www.europarl.europa.eu/studies DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND TERRITORIAL SITUATION OF FRENCH GUIANA NOTE Abstract This note provides an overview of France, its political, economic and administrative system, together with a description of European Union support to France, and the Operational Programmes contained in the National Strategic Reference Framework for the period 2007-13. Special attention is given to the specificities of French Guiana, its structural, social and economic situation and its status as an outermost region, as well as the underlying specific conditions relating to development strategies and the use of structural funds and cohesion policy. The note has been prepared in the context of the Committee on Regional Development's delegation to French Guiana, 2–6 November 2011. IP/B/REGI/NT/2011_06 October 2011 PE 460.068 EN Economic, Social and Territorial Situation of French Guiana TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 5 1. KEY FACTS AND FIGURES 9 1.1. Political and governmental structures 11 1.2. The economy 12 2. INSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR EU COHESION POLICY 15 2.1. Administrative division of France 15 2.2. Structural Funds management 17 3. EU COHESION POLICY IN FRANCE 2007-2013 19 3.1. Overview of Cohesion Funds in France 19 3.2. NSRF and Operational Programmes 20 3.3. European Territorial Cooperation 21 3.4. European Social Fund in France 22 3.5. Structural Funds in the French Overseas Regions 23 3.6. Future of Cohesion Policy: French position 23 4. FOCUS on THE French Guiana 25 4.1. Outermost Regions in France and in the European Union 25 4.2. Key data and figures 26 4.3. Principal development problems 29 4.4. Regional Development Strategy for French Guiana 30 4.5. Operational Programmes 31 CONCLUSIONS 37 REFERENCES 39 3 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies 4 Economic, Social and Territorial Situation of French Guiana LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CIACT Inter-ministerial Committee for Territory Management and Competitiveness (Comité interministériel à l’aménagement et à la compétitivité des territoires) COM Overseas Collectivities (collectivités d’outre-mer) DG REGIO Directorate-General for Regional Policy, European Commission DOM Overseas Departments (départements d’outre-mer) EAFRD European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone EPCI Inter-communal co-operations (établissement public de coopération intercommunale) ERDF European Regional Development Fund ESF European Social Fund EU European Union EUR Euro FN National Front (Front national) GDP Gross Domestic Product ITER International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor MODEM Democratic Movement (Mouvement démocrate) COM Overseas Collectivities (collectivités d’outre-mer) DG REGIO Directorate-General for Regional Policy, European Commission COM Overseas Collectivities (collectivités d’outre-mer) DG REGIO Directorate-General for Regional Policy, European Commission 5 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NSRF National Strategic Reference Framework NUTS Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics OCT Overseas Country and Territory OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OP Operational Programme PCF French Communist Party (Parti communiste français) PPS Purchasing Power Standards PS Socialist Party (Parti socialiste) OR Outermost Region RMI Social Integration Minimum Income (Revenu minimum d'insertion) ROM Overseas Region (Région d'outre-mer) RP Regional Programme TFEU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union TOM Overseas Territory (Territoires d'outre-mer) UMP Union for a Popular Movement (Union pour un mouvement populaire) WTO World Trade Organization 6 Economic, Social and Territorial Situation of French Guiana LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Map of French territories 9 Figure 2 Map of the French Republic 10 Figure 3 Key Data 10 Figure 4 French exclusive economic zone by overseas territories 13 Figure 5 Funds for France in EUR billion 2007-2013 19 Figure 6 France's regions (at NUTS 2 level) 20 Figure 7 Geographical location of French Guiana 26 7 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies 8 Economic, Social and Territorial Situation of French Guiana 1. KEY FACTS AND FIGURES The territory of the French Republic consists of: Metropolitan France (divided in to 22 regions and 96 departments including Corsica); 5 Overseas departments-regions (Départements d’outre-mer - DOM; Région d'outre-mer - ROM): Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, the Réunion and, since 31 March 2011, Mayotte; 5 Overseas collectivities (Collectivités d’outre-mer - COM): French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Saint-Barthélémy, Saint-Martin; 2 special territories: sui generis collectivity (Collectivité sui generis) - New Caledonia and overseas territory (Territoire d'outre-mer) - the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. The surface area of the country is 632 834 km2, 543 965 for the metropolitan France and 88 969 for the Overseas departments. With a population of 65 million citizens, France is the second biggest country in the European Union after Germany. Figure 1: Map of French territories Source: http://www.outre-mer.gouv.fr 9 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies Figure 2: Map of the French Republic Source: Eurostat Figure 3: Key Data Area 632 834 km2 Population 65 075 310 Population density (per km2) 101.4 Official language French Currency EUR GDP per capita (PPS) 107 Growth rate 1.5% Unemployment rate 9.8% Inflation rate 1.7% Public deficit 7.0% Public debt 81.7% of GDP Source: EUROSTAT for 2010 10 Economic, Social and Territorial Situation of French Guiana 1.1. Political and governmental structures The French Republic is a unitary state with a semi-presidential system. The constitution from 1958 (since modified on several occasions) has introduced strong executive power, represented by the President of the Republic and the government, with the Prime Minister appointed by the president. The president is directly elected every 5 years. The current President is Nicolas Sarkozy (since 2007). The next presidential elections will be organised in 2012 and the French political parties have already started active preparations. The Prime Minister is François Fillon from the same party as the President, the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). The French Parliament is composed of two chambers: a National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) and a Senate. 577 Members of the National Assembly are elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year renewable term. The National Assembly can be dissolved prematurely by the President (but not during the first year after the general elections). Since 1958, it has happened five times: in 1962, 1968, 1981, 1988 and 1997. The polling method used in general elections is the two-round, first-past-the-post poll (scrutin majoritaire à deux tours). The next elections will take place in 2012. 331 Members of Senate are chosen by an electoral college (i.e. deputies, members of general councils, regional councils and municipal councils, etc.) for 6-year terms. Every 3 years, one half of its Members are subject to re-election. The last elections were held on 25 September 2011. The current French political scene is dominated by its two biggest political parties: Union for a Popular Movement (Union pour un mouvement populaire - UMP) - member of the PPE; Socialist Party (Parti socialiste - PS) - member of the S&D. Other important political parties are: