The PROBLEM with OVERSEAS FRANCE (the remains of the Empire) - VisualPolitik EN
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2022
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France's territory still extends all over the globe, making it the country with the largest maritime area in the world. These scattered lands are the remains of what was once the French Empire. However, the problems with these territories continue to this day. Places like New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Martinique have a difficult fit within the political and institutional construction of modern France.
In this video we bring you closer to the most unknown and distant face of France: the overseas territories.
It is totally not reasonable to assume that the other half of the population in New Caledonia is pro independence.
Indeed it isn't, if they were why not just vote independent and be independent after all. The only reason to boycott in such a situation would normally be because you think you're going to lose.
The pro independance didn't boycott the referendums of 2018 and 2020 and the "no" won. They boycotted the last because they knew it would be the same result. But VisualPolitics (typical anglo-saxon French bashers) chose to ignore this fact and claim that the "no" won because of the boycott. They also ignored the fact that the pro-independance had 3 referendums (if the "no" won at the 1st referendum they wouldn't be a 2nd or a 3rd referendum). They had enough chances and the majority have spoken.
@@gontrandjojo9747 Umm, Visualpolitik channel is mostly Spanish. This is just the ingles version of channel.
@@sagmilling Shut up Alex LOL
@@gontrandjojo9747 and they also didn't mention that historically the French have a tendency to manipulate votes in their overseas territories
It’s disingenuous to compare wealth levels of remote territories to that of mainland Europe.
You should be comparing them to their geographical neighbours of similar size to better judge how well they are faring as part of France…
This might help you understand why they dont want to break away.
Comores (former French colony) GDP per capita : 1400 $
Mayotte (Comores island who refuses independence) : 8800 $
Not hard to understand
Bermuda $100000 (British island)
@@oo--7714 bermuda is literary a tax paradise
@@rolu7777 so it has a high life expectancy (81) and gdp per capita.
@@oo--7714 tax paradise
@@sa34w What is your point other than to show you are throwing a temper tantrum? JFK and Art Laffer have time and again proven that low taxes increase productivity while high taxes stifle it.
Some of the overseas territories are just too small ,vulnerable and has nothing to offer should it become independent countries. A number of British territories says "No" to a referendum because they know, it's on their disadvantage should they decide to disassociate themselves from the UK. Basically it's the same logical reason for French Overseas Territories
The Commonwealth is kinda the equivalent to our French Overseas Territories.
They're called Colonies 🇬🇧🇨🇵
They ware bigger than East Timor
Martinique and Guadeloupe are the largest and most populous countries of the Eastern Caribbean. Nearly all of their neighbours are independent, and while not booming global economies are doing just fine. The inclusion of an independent Guadeloupe and Martinique into the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) would increase the block's population, economy and unity considerably and would prove a boon for the entire region. The "too small" argument is tired imperialist propoganda.
@@danemlive Ask the locals if they want independence.
@@themax9913 of course they do.
Ask native Americans do they want independence and their land back.
I don't see a problem with overseas territory, if the people in those overseas territories are happy with the situation I don't see the problem. In fact French Guinea and the Falklands are some of the richest places per capita in South America. Polling shows the people living there are pro the status quo.
Years ago I used to have a friend from Martinique and he told me a lot about his life there before moving to Paris as an adult. According to him, the outer French "departments" aren't poor because of discrimination per se, but rather because they have significant cultural differences from the mother country. The entire French system of governance evolved organically over the centuries to serve the interests of culturally French people. If you live in the Caribbean or Africa with a distinctly tropical culture however, then you find yourself not very well served by the same system of government that works so well in France.
He gave me the following example to illustrate his point. While growing up in Martinique, people used to complain bitterly about the lack of beautifully manicured parks, like the ones found all over Paris. If Paris can have such beautiful parks, why can't we, asked the French citizens of Martinique. Facing harsh criticisms of racism, the central government in Paris dispatched a team of botanical engineers to Martinique to create a manicured flower-garden park in the middle of the capital.
Everyone in Martinique was pleased with the results and they all flocked to the new park to enjoy the sweet-smelling roses and to take leisurely walks through the new park. As soon as the engineers departed back to France however, all those beautiful roses mysteriously disappeared from the park. The government even launched an investigation into the vanished roses, but their fate remained an unsolved mystery. Right about the same time however, it was noticed that the private gardens of several of the homes in the vicinity of the park had come into sudden possession of beautiful, high-quality roses overnight. To this day the mystery has never been solved...
There are significant cultural differences between France and its overseas departments. Perhaps internal self-rule, such as in the case of Britain's overseas territories, could go a long way to solve these cultural problems.
you are right... i live in Caribbean (Trinidad) and I have seen that people know about basmati rice but they are expensive so people normally cook parboiled rice in their house but whenever they go to party and they see basmati rice or any good food they start packing...lol
this visual politick channel is a left leaning so called liberal channel, the views garnered can be likened 'bite the hand that feeds you'. It beats logic like nowhere else. they keep blaming the developed european countries like sweden ( for not integrating immigrants from Africa) and France ( overseas territories) , just open your eyes and look around how did China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia and India get over their handicaps without any natural resources under their belt They had their native populations who worked hard to make their country great. Even in Re-union the native population is chinese + indian and therefore they have been able to bridge the gap of GDP and GNP as the emphasis is more on academic talent and not doles. Even France 's old territory of Puducherry is very prosperous because the natives preserved their french connection and worked hard to ensure development. Development and self development are products of self enrichment and knowledge and that requires lot of human and intellectual investment. that is the main reason why british had to bend themselves in India despite ruling them as the native populations were already intellectually inclined and had developed civilisations but the same could not be replicated in Rwanda or Uganda or any of the caribbean islands ..the channel visualpolitik views or collaborations such opinions will only cause self doubt in any person.. which in itself is not good. The trajectory of development is often self propelled.. irrespective of race, religion or country of origin, a self propelled person will be bring development to himself and the people around him...
Here in the Netherlands we've the same issues too with the Dutch Caribbean. The solution is pretty simple: Self rule where possible, but taking over control when things get too corrupt. Indeed there are people out there like at that want 99% independence czcams.com/video/Y7DrwP8E4uw/video.html , but those people are just profiteurs like those of Martinique instead of patriots that want their island nations to prosper.
That rose miracle thing happens literally everyday and everywhere in India! For example, a few years ago the government owned railways inaugurated a super luxury train with very low cost ticket prices, on the first trip itself the ( low cost) passengers ripped the train interiors apart and turned it into a wreck!
Agreed, to put blame solely on one side does not bring out the real issues that is happening on the ground. Lots of places have similar paradoxical situations.
4:39 “unlike London, which had given full freedom to its overseas territories…”
Yea that “freedom” to “encourage” its territories to be tax havens.
Becoming tax havens would be a wet dream for poor French overseas territories.
U should've propably mentioned the fact that these territories are still way way richer than their neighbouring countriesp
They aren't, at least not in the carrebian
@@oo--7714 they are, even more the carabian with tourism. Go cry about it, salty English 😂
@@oo--7714 Not trying to defend anything but I've just checked and both Martinique and Guadeloupe have a higher (if not way higher) HDI and GDP per capita than their neighbouring countries
@@gasp2073
With France accounting for the vast majority of it.
Only because of France.
If I live in one of these territories, I would prefer the status quo. Sure, my quality of life may be far from the quality of life in the mainland France but it's still way better than my neighboring countries who are "independent."
really? You are encouraging European colonialism?
@@jim-es8qk It's an objective fact that French Guyana for example is much more prosperous than the other Guyanas. Instead of being a poor backwater, it is a poor backwater with a rich developed daddy who develops the place and gives stuff like actual healthcare.
@@jim-es8qk why did you say European colonialism?
@@hmmkin6729 if you look at the capital city of french Guyana it looks no different from the rest.
@@oo--7714 Standard of life is still superior.
Well you can’t go independent and still expect them to keep paying so it’s one or the other
Exactly.
Let them go independent (a century over due) AND pay reparations, as all former colonial powers should. All these fancy buildings and infrastructure was built off the blood sweat and tears of former slaves. UK just finished a 30 billion rail line upgrade but haven't paid India back the 45 TRILLION it stole, for example.
Not pay...just pay back 😉
@@sleepyjoe4529 great idea but would bankrupt a certain few former colonial powers
@@RuB0t They dont have to pay a lump sum -- but they have to do something. Obviously these "developed" countries will have to cut back on spending and raise taxes instead of consuming none-stop then blaming developing nations for climate change.
It's worth stating that the UK also financially compensated slave-owners upon the abolition of slavery, but did not compensate slaves. That sadly was a standard model across western countries.
Compensating slave owners prevented the collapse of many of these places, since they were dependent on single industries. Had the slave owners not been compensated, they would have gone bankrupt and simply moved out, leaving no business or commerce remaining. Essentially, it would have been what occurred when European farmers had their land expropriated in Africa - it was turned over to the local people who had no idea what to do with it, and extreme poverty took over. Giving money to former slaves may have been a "nice" gesture, but it would not have made the development of these places any greater. In fact, it probably would have financed conflict.
@@VisibilityFoggy Basically the same argument AGAINST reparations in the US. And why Soviet collectivism never works. Workers, unless they came up through the ranks into management, don't necessarily understand WHY a factory or business runs the way it does. Without that wider perspective, you may make choices that adversely harm the company.
In a similar vein, some folks should take a look at Indonesia and ask why the ethnic Chinese tended to have most of the wealth after the Dutch left following WW2. The Dutch used the Chinese as the mid-level managers and the local Javanese and Sumatrans as the labor. The anti-Chinese sentiment under Sukarno and Suharto threatened to do to Indonesia what Mugabe did to Zimbabwe.
@@VisibilityFoggy False. Slave owners were nobles, their fortune beyond the colony and linked to the clan and political power inland. Ensuring the enslaved would remain without land and resources was to guarantee they would have no alternative than continue on plantation to survive, and make sure economic and land power remains in the hands of the whites, so the racist social system would not be destabilized. When the plan to maintain same labour failed, asian indentured laborers were brought right away. There was no threat of economic collapse. Only threat of civil power shift with abolition. The enslaved were the experts in all trades and crafts of local industries, this was their work . Making yourself believe they would not have known what to do with resources is ridiculous.
In Africa french colonizers bombed and destroyed all infrastructures before leaving. Installed financial, economic, political, educational and military dependence on France to ensure continuous ingerence serving France economic interests. It has been called by scholars the Françafrica system. You have the nerve to claim the people were left with their own resources whichthey weren't able to handle ...therefore stayed in poverty! 🤣🤣🤣
2022 read and educate yourself...time to get out of white saviour/civilizer syndrome.
Where there is damage their should be reparations. Where there is thief there should be restitution.
Only this works with the presence of morality and decency. Europeans and their governments do not have these.
@@candace270584 I completely understand your point and was agreeing mostly apart from the generalisation in the last sentence. You branded “white” Europeans racist, which for sure they were in the past, and there are those who are racist out there, but a lot are not. In context to what you were saying, yes the white people back then who were fine with the slave trade were racist. But back to my point, the vast generalisation of a whole continent is wrong in that manner, and potentially racist, imagine if it was the other way round - both are morally wrong.
On the other hand as a white British male, who am I to talk about any of this.
That was happily the model to be used . It was necessary.
Technically, places like Guadalupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Rèunion and Mayotte are more than just overseas territories, they are integral parts of the country of France. As such, it means that despite not being in Europe, these territories are in the European Union and the Euro is their legal tender, however, unlike Metropolitan France, they're not in the Schengen Area
Integral parts of France lol what bs I hear
@@pierzing.glint1sh76 Elles le sont
@@pierzing.glint1sh76 but they are integral part of it Indeed. They have exactly the same legal status
Pierzing.glint1sh7 they are. They vote for the president, the deputes etc
@@pierzing.glint1sh76 Metropolitan France (Mainland France and Corsica) makes up only 13 of the 18 regions of France. The remaining 5 are the Departments D'Outre Mer in the Carribbean, South America and southern Africa
I mean, isn't it also true that France's territories are located in poorer regions of the world? Meaning, the neighboring nations of these colonies are in all likelihood no better off than France's colonies. It might even be argued that, without Euros from France's budget, and France's invested interest in making their colonies an asset and not a liability, that these lands would have an even lower GDP and level of development.
They're not "Colonies", they are part of France. Like Hawaii in the US. Therefore they expect similar living standards as people that live in the "Metropole".
@@TGIM nonetheless, this video is arguing that they are still colonies, and that’s why they’re not able to thrive, because they are not allowed to have trade relations with anyone, etc etc. I’d argue, if they attained independence they could do worse without the benefits of being a part of France. Even in the US, depending from state to state, and even regions within states, the standard of living varies from area to area. No one in Livingston, Montana expects to have anything close to the living standards of Beverly Hills, California.
@@TGIM Why would they expect that though? Even in the mainland US some states are significantly poorer than others.
Isn’t this similar to some American overseas territories? Places like Puerto Rico and American Samoa have significantly lower GDP per capita than the poorest US state of Mississippi, but they’re richer in their neighbourhood.
@@artman12 that's not really the case, Peter Rico isn't doing that well, for example Chile and Argentina have higher standards of living in terms of hdi.
I think you need to ask yourself what would happen if they gained independence? There was funnily enough a convenient little case study with the islands, where some voted for independence and then promptly f:ed themselves, and now the "France"-island has to deal with a huge migrant wave . I bet if you asked the residents of the independent islands if they could rejoin France now, they would. You seem to take it for granted that when undeveloped countries gain independence they automatically improve, and everyone loves it. I challenge you to present your evidence.
An undeveloped country that gains independence and improves? Examples, examples....
Brasil,
Nigeria,
Kenya,
Israel,
Estonia,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
India,
Singapore,
Indonesia,
oh, and United States of America
@@Rob_F8F Rofl u giving me Nigeria and Kenya as examples where things got better! Nice bluff. Your other examples are 100 years old or more bro, hardly relevant.
@@faaltoh You need a little help with your math. I gave you 11 countries as examples. Besides Brazil and the USA, the other 11 all gained their independence between 1945 and 1991 which largely overlaps the period of Decolonization.
As for Nigeria and Kenya, yes there were dictators and civil wars since independence. But do you have any reputable research that states they would have been better off remaining as colonies?
@Just a Player I would cite the small countries of Singapore and Taiwan as island nations the improved after decolonization.
@@Rob_F8F -
Bangladesh also, as their economy, literacy rate, female-employment rate has greatly improved, their intent mortality rates have decreased, their birth rate has decreased to a stable level.
Friendly reminder that Gabon actually asked to become an integral French department instead of independence, but was rejected on de Gaulle’s assessment that it would become an empty weight in the middle of Africa.
*That was before they found out the oil.*
True. The country is one of the most developed countries in terms of hdi , and 30 percent of the population are immigrants, Gabon is an interesting country as its the only successful French African nation.
@@oo--7714 well, most of the old French Africa didn't have key raw resources... it's easy to compare with say, Nigeria... but when you exclude countries with oil, Africa does poorly still, be them part of the English empire of old or the French one, or the Portuguese etc etc...
even Algeria with it's abundant gas reserve isn't doing so well...
and when they have resources, they somehow get some bs independence guerrilla, funded by third parties companies who would like to take the exploitation of said resources from the one currently and historically exploiting them...
@@kolerick Nigeria has a lot of oil though
And is very poor
Also if you look at the hdi, French regions as a whole are doing very poorly, there is a difference between Ghana and Chad for instance
@@oo--7714 again, you compare apples and oranges... compare Ghana with similar countries like Ivory Coast... Chad is a Sahelian country while Ghana is on the Guinea gulf
likewise, compare French Guyana with Suriname and Guyana
The question really isn't whether or not these territories should be "free", they are, french Caledonia alone has had three or four votes in the past couple decades about french indépendance and voted no everytime (saying that the other half that didn't voted on the last one may be enough to make them independant is disingenuous, they didn't vote because they knew they wouldn't be enough like in the previous votes). The question that France should be concerned about is the management of said territories though which clearly has been shown to be lacking. Now is the answer to that problem more decentralization, i don't know, it's not exactly fair to compare them to the British territories which are quite different whether it be the people or the placement and economic assets that they hold (Gibraltar is in Europe and on a great spot to exploit Mediterranean trade, Hong Kong is in China, etc.). What is for sure is that some kind of public investment scheme in order to enhance public infrastructure, build proper roads, schools, hospitals, etc. Would probably greatly benefit said territories.
It is kill or be killed, cant afford it otherwise. Almost noone choose to die, anywhere for now, so it is to kill. France will cut them off, the moment the price is right, unless someone, somehow, somewhere, will feel what is the right path, convincing the necessary population, and in time. Spiraling towards disaster at least for some involved i predict is most likely scenario, for every similar region, like Baltimore for example. Your way does sound right to me, as a non resident of any the regions involved, so i dont know, only guessing. However, probably, i guess, your suggestion, for now is to soon to implement. The people wont be ready to do it right and it will instead cause something worse in the long term, basically wasteful spending of severely needed funds. Wait for it, is therefore my best bet, despite choosing believe your way is the way eventually, and in time for some at least.
I traveled to the french Guiana and I gotta tell you they protest but they don't want independence or derregulation
They love those French freebies.
this
@VisualPolitik Can you please make a video on the French foreign legion and what their roots, function, reach and power are about?
Thanks! Love your vids :)
They aren’t “territories”,they’re just france.Anyone with a French passport can move to and live in any of these places.Someone from Guadeloupe can go live in Paris,someone from Nantes can go live in Martinique
It is difficult to imagine a person earning an average wage in Guadalupe being able to afford to live in Paris.
This while a pensioner from Nantes, holding great savings, enjoying rich retirement benefits, and who fancies himself to be a second Gaugin, can easily go live in Martinique.
@@Rob_F8F If someone with an average wage in Guadeloupe come live in Paris, then they'll have a 'paris' job and so a 'paris' wage.
@@Rob_F8F Many move from the Caribbean to Paris is because there's better/more economic opportunities. That's why there's more French Caribbeans in mainland France than Nante pensioners in the French Caribbean. There might be more French Caribbeans in Europe than the Caribbean itself. This phenomenon is sad IMO but it isn't unique to France. Mainland USA has more Puerto Ricans than Puerto Rico. Many Hawaiians move to the mainland because there are more opportunities and they can't afford to live on their own island anymore.
Just to point to a different perspective on France’s interventionism: I have it on good authority that some (can’t say how many) in Dominica look at the financial support flowing into neighbouring Martinique and Guadeloupe from the metropole and feel abandoned by Britain, which, as you point out, leaves its former colonies to their own devices - for better or for worse. I don’t mean to say that France is doing well, but the comparison with Bermuda may be somewhat misleading.
In effect, geoeconomic sibling rivalry. Or, as a friend calls it, sniveling rivalry.
Britain just didnt do enough to cultivate the ties with the Commonwealth which is a great shame
I don't think it's misleading, most British overseas territories are doing well and have less poverty compared to French ones.
'I have it on good authority that some (can’t say how many) in Dominica look at the financial support flowing into neighbouring Martinique and Guadeloupe from the metropole and feel abandoned by Britain'
Ah, of course we should believe all people who claim to be experts on the internet., Well I have it on good authority from reliable sources that everything you said is incorrect. They actually hate France interfering in their domestic affairs and acting with a colonial mindset.
@@oo--7714 That's because most are Blood Money laundering operations.
Why didn't those people just go and vote with their "NO" vote...I get it that they wanted to de-legitimize the vote but when 44% of the population voted anyway, voting turnout is never 100% so say, there was 30% that wanted to vote NO but boycotted the vote. They would have lost anyway probably but now we'll never really know because they didn't submit their vote at all..I just don't see how that helps their cause.
In principle I agree with you but New Caledonia is a bit more complicated than that. To be clear. The treaty said there will be 3 referendums at different dates (they then decided on 2018, 2020 and 2021) and if one of them said yes to independence then that was it.
Yes to independence got 43.3% in 2018, much closer than the polls suggested, and with 81% turnout.
In 2020 it was even higher with 46.7% voting yes to independence. With this time 85% turnout! So they were absolutely not boycotting and were actually fighting for their independence…
Then Covid hit. And covid was actually the main reason the independentists boycotted the final referendum of 2021. People who want independence are mostly from the Kanak ethnic group, the original population of the island. And they are poorer than the European/French settlers. Hence, they got hit harder by covid, and their traditional ritual of grief was not respected because of lockdown and different anti-covid polities.
They ask to shift the last referendum to a later date. The French government and local authorities refused.
So they felt betrayed and in danger of contracting even more covid. So they decided to boycott and the 2021 referendum got only 3.5% of yes vote with only 44% turnout. A complete joke…
On the other hand, today the Kanak are under 50% of the population. And the French settlers have been there for generations now. It’s not like they can go back to France easily, a lot of them never actually lived in France mainland. So even if everyone showed up to vote, it’s still likely that New Caledonia would have stayed French. Just like the 2018 ans 2020 vote suggested.
3:58 Mayotte is full of illegal comorians, of course the level of poverty rates is high.
Mahorais are a minority on their own island.
So the priority is to take care of the Mahorais first
Viva la France 🇺🇸🤝🏻🇫🇷
What's with the France bashing once again ? All to claim the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon model ?
Like pretend that old colonies are "independent", just effectively strip them of any economic and security viability so that they are at the mercy of anglo-saxon corporations ?
You barely touch the topic when mentioning that Mayotte is far better off than the rest of Comores, to the point that everybody else in Comores wants to go to Mayotte.
You should have extended that to other meaningful regional comparisons, such as how good is situation in neighboring independent Guyanas, or neighboring independent Caribbean islands. How much better are they ? How "independent" are they really ?
You also brush aside the topic of independence referendum, with voters vastly in favor of remaining within France, while falsely claiming that every abstention was necessarily a vote for independence (this is one the most egregious statements and show more than a bias in this "analysis"). Of course, if pro-independence movement was so sure to win, they would have voted.
So now what, these people want to stay in France, and they should be what ? forcefully thrown away ?
Anglo-Saxon Model? That way of doing business is no stranger to the French. Look what they do in Africa and how they influenced the National Bank of Haiti. 😂 I’d rather live in a former British colony than a former French colony. 😂
Tipically, a british/english point of view. Islands are too small and too dry to do anything else but tourism. They are little and vulnerable to everything. Where does the money come from, for retirment ? Social help ? Hospital ? Police ? Power Plant ? Everything come from France.
Don't say the contrary, this is roughly the same scenario for British overseas territoty.
Is because they lose all there colonies because they only want exploited them and they hate France so they want we fall too. And USA want France be more weakness for have more influence on them.
Tbf, these are relatively isolated islands, you have to factor that in too in addition to French shenanigans. Isolated islands will always be poorer.
An interesting comparison is with their neighbors.
He also doesn't like to point out Charles DeGaulle. During WW2, many of these overseas territories had an opportunity to break away with the establishment of the Vichy government by Petain. While Petain was no saint, DeGaulle insisted on being the second coming of Napoleon. The fiasco of Vietnam in particular at Dien Bien Phu was in large part because DeGaulle refused to accept that the French Empire was finished as an institution.
@@davidford3115 De Gaulle was not in power during the war in Indochina.
@@adrien5834 He had every opportunity to emancipate the region and chose not to. He instead chose to continue the status quo as an occupying foreign power. You haven't disproven my point.
@@davidford3115 There's nothing to disprove as you don't have a point. I'm just pointing out a historical fact.
Always interesting to see a different bias on the french DOM-TOM.
This is kind of a british point of view though. Not enough freedom and therefore too centralized... All decided in Paris. This could be seen as weakness but it also is a major force by getting a cohesive policy and management.
I'm tempted to think that either Guadeloupe or Martinique citizens are way more happier to live under France gvt than Montserrat citizens living under british rules. But I'm maybe biased too...
Anyhow if anglo governance is such a marvelous thing to go through then I would suggest Macron to hire some of those experts and see what they can do to better the present situation. He is used to Mcinsey "dear" advises afterall...
To compare the English-speaking world and the French-speaking world would not yield you any happy result as a France-supporter.
@ why is that ? If there is some benchmarking to do on either sides then let's get on to it.
@@vermicelledecheval5219 Common sense. Former French colonies are shithole countries (current French colonies are not much better either). Former British colonies are leaders of liberty and prosperity. France has a been a bad influence since the Revocation of Edict of Nantes. Louisiana is one state in the US with heavy French influence, and it is the worst state in the United States - personal experience and also authoritative ranking
@ I do not know much about Louisiana but I think you do not know much either about the french oversea territories. Of course they do not have the standard of living of the métropole but they have a fair decent way of life. Not that bad to live at Guadeloupe, Martinique, french Guyana, Réunion and of course french Polynesia. My view at least...
@@vermicelledecheval5219 Much worse than the English world. Anglo-Saxons left behind Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, US, etc. France left behind Haiti, Quebec, Louisiana, etc. France also has a strong collectivist tradition. Chinese communism, for example, got its refuge in French concession in China in 1920s. The first Chinese Communist Congress was held in the French concession
Wait, isn't it racist to care about the race or nationality of the mothers giving birth in a given city? When the Europeans complain they get labeled racist.
To be fair you can't justify poverty by the lack of decentralisation, this video is a praise to the British system. You can't compare them, each have a different way that relies on different constraints. It's true that the English system has qualities but it also has lots of issues such as money laundering. Plus, you can't compare Hong Kong and outremer territories, Hong Kong has always been a commercial and industrial hub whereas many French territories weren't even inhabited before their discovery. Anyways this video is unfortunately not based on qualitative research and apprehension.
Wouldn't be surprised if it was made biased on purpose.
This channel is run by Brits; France is trying to form an alternative to Anglo dominated western institutions, an idea I have fallen in love with.
They must be worried and starting to try and convince traditional English allies to not make the jump towards more independence from NATO, AU/UK/US/CA etc. and cooperation with France/a growingly truly united Europe.
@@ibrahimozgursucu3378 "This channel is run by Brits" - nope, the channel is Spanish. VisualPolitik EN is just the English language version of the main Spanish VisualPolitik channel. The presenters here don't write the script, they're simply repeating what the Spanish version says.
Hong Kong was a fishing village of 6000 people when Britain took over. It was mostly uncultivated and their top export was burning wood to make charcoal.
Those uneducated fishermen and charcoal burners were not genetically pre-dispositioned to being financial wizards. Britain did that via the laws and trade routes it established.
@@john_doe_not_found Absolutely, though Hong Kong does have a reasonably fortunate position being right off of China like that, and not to far from Taiwan and the major sea trade lanes. Location certainly made it easier to make Hong Kong wealthy.
A lot of the French remaining territories are in areas a bit more off the main pathways of commerce and opportunity. And that might in part also explain why they have a bit harder time doing as well. If a lot of your trading has to be done in low volumes over long distance, that is less ideal after all.
Spot on. I stopped watching when he started praising British colonialism and called french overseas territories colonies though they have same rights of being french citizen which Britain never gave to ex colonies. This video is total BS
For all their grievances none of the overseas territories would consider independence: the indigenous population enjoys the handouts too much
This is the case due to the restrictive laws France has imposed upon its territories, like not being allowed to engage in commercial activity with other countries, being forced to engage in low-profit business like banana and sugar cane farming, not being allowed to make laws that apply to their local region, needing to go through Paris bureaucracy to get anything done, etc etc etc. These territories have been kept from bettering themselves, they are wholly dependent on France by law. If France wanted these territories to eventually become independent and self-sufficient, things would be different. However, these are *islands*, some unfortunately quite small, isolated, and limited in resources, so there is an argument to be made about how self-sufficient they could actually become.
@@RubmaLione sorry but without France footing most of the cost, bill and projects . These island wouldn't stand a chance. These territories benefit from French assistance and services that they couldn't afford or provide on their own
If you compare French overseas territories, to British ones like Bermuda they just seem to be worse off.
And they might be able to make it work, Barbados and Bahamas are extremely development island nations. Most former British islands are doing well.
@@manovrsb they would, if a place like Bermuda can have one of the highest gdp per capita and life expectancy in the world, then the French Islands can do the same, its just sad they don't get much development.
@@oo--7714 yeah but living in a french territories meant you are protected from any outside competition and with exceptional wages while British territories are more you're on your own . That's why former British colonies do better than the french.
damn still hasn't brushed his teeth
Vive la France ! 🇨🇵
Hey man, did you do voiceover for a KitKat ad?:D I need my answers!
The sun never sets on the French Republic...
Or on the British Commonwealth.
@@davidford3115 British Commonwealth is just a talking shop
@@maxcream6726 At this time, perhaps. But there is discussion of it becoming a free trade union among its members.
@@davidford3115 More chance of the UK breaking up IMO
France is building an international welfare state. Changing a few laws to better their trade situation would be helpful.
France d'outre-mer (French overseas territories) like la Nouvelle-Calédonie are of strategic importance to France (and by extension the EU). The rentier system serves in the interest of the French state to create dependency, which makes independence unlikely. Because those territories are more important for geopolitical than for economic reasons, devolution may seem economically reasonable, but would be a strategic mistake. Because devolution could lead to a development like in Scotland, where devolution has only strengthened the calls for independence. On the other hand, are those territories a lot better off than their independent neighbors. French Guiana on the Equator is home to Europe's Spaceport and the territories in the Indo-Pacific are a bulwark against Chinese influence. If la Nouvelle-Calédonie (or other territories) would become independent, they soon would be de facto Chinese colonies.
How french colonialism is better than Chinese. Why people's prosperity doesn't mean anything for France? At least give economic freedom to trade with neighboring countries. And lift the regulation. Why french love government being involved everywhere. Even some younger french doesn't like this overregulated beaurocratic system.
@@felix09710 This was more a realist analysis than an opinion. But I do believe that even with their colonial history it is better to be a Citoyen of a democratic Republic, than to become a de facto colony of a ruthless dictatorship, just for an independence that only exists on paper.
@@felix09710 they are overall richer though, take Tibet for example, living standards there are the same as Ghana and Kenya, not that good.
@@felix09710 I think the French love of dictatorship stems from both Napoleon as well as Charles DeGaulle. Both men were charismatic leaders that convinced the French population that a "benevolent dictatorship" was in their best interest. Those of English heritage understood quite well the dangers of despotism, even if it was a "kinder, gentler" one.
@@davidford3115 French "love of dictatorship" has brought you human rights and the first democracy in the modern World. A certain Bonaparte brought us the Code Napoléon. And while he was certainly no democrat, he was very progressive for his time. Not only did Napoleon defend the rights gained during the Revolution (against several coalitions financed by a certain class-based monarchy), but he also exported these values through all of Europe and liberated Poland. Even the BBC had to acknowledge that Europe presumably wouldn't be the democratic continent we know today without the greatest leader in history since Augustus.
FYI Britian has oversees territories in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
France is unique in that it successfully managed to maintain its colonial empire without having to call it that.
Not really. Vietnam, particularly the French disaster at Dien Bien Phu proved that the French Empire as an institution was finished. The others just haven't seen a need to emulate the folks in "French Indo-China". And considering their (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) example, I don't really blame them (French Overseas) for rejecting that path.
You should cover American Guam as a comparison.
There really isn't much of a comparison there. Guam was a colony of the Spanish Empire before being ceded to the U.S. after the Spanish-American war. It then was occupied by Japan, then came back under American jurisdiction after the Japanese were defeated in World War II. Since then, it really just become populated with American military personnel. The U.S. never ran it as a "colony," per se, they just built a naval base there and granted everyone American citizenship.
@@VisibilityFoggy Americans also invested in the island and made the locals feel Americans. In fact, most inhabitants are happy patriots and many wish to serve in the military.
Why can't France do the same with their overseas territories?
There is also a large USAF air base on the island and the US is also moving some USMC units from Okinawa, Japan to Guam
The us territories are way more developed than FOTs, its not a fair comparison even in the Mariana islands the HDI is similar to that of the whole of poland. The US is way more involved.
Guam has a hdi similar to france
I understand the wish to be sovereign, but just wondering how much financial support these parts of France are getting. Small areas are usually hard to make economic stable, unless you are special like Singapore.
Small isolated islands will never have the same economic advantages as continental countries, it's common for them (French or not) to have a lower GDP per capita, they cannot trade as easily as countries which are next to each others. The British gave more freedom to their territories, this resulted in the creation of fiscal paradises; not sure this is a good model either that benefits the locals and the rest of the world (only super rich people who want to avoid paying taxes).
Regarding the referendums in New Caledonia, you should have looked at turnout at the two first ones, by focusing on the last one (which was boycotted by those in favor of the "Yes") you give an inaccurate image of the reality. They organised 3 referendums to make sure the decision of the people was clear, i.e. in 2018, 2020 and 2021. In 2018 turnout was 81% and in 2020 turnout was 85,6%. Both times the "No" won (56% and 53%) which led supporters of the "Yes" to boycott the third and last referendum because they knew they would loose (independendists wanted the referendum to be postponed). This will anyway lead to a new status for New Caledonia which will also have to be approved by referendum in 2023.
1:50 What about the UK (British Indian Ocean Territory)?
Info pacific - does the UK not hold Diego Garcia?
Well said the people of Hong Kong are so happy that British rule has ended and they are now free under the CPC. Anybody who says they are unhappy can join the Uyghurs in the holiday camps.
Yeah, I am of the opinion that they should have handed over Hong Kong to Taipei in the late 1960s. Basically, negotiate a new agreement by which the UK could have had free-trade with Hong Kong and other perks, but that control would revert back to the Republic of China (Kuomintang) as the crown would be terminating their original lease early.
Sure, so France 🇫🇷 releases these colonies and they become economic superpowers with a higher quality of life right?!
Don’t be stupid.
France isn’t the problem with these places.
If anything it benefits these places.
Stop being so naïve with your politics…
Visual Politics smh
They are not naive, they have bad faith (hillarious how they distort facts). Typical French bashing.
One thing you have to understand is that for sure overseas territories of france were obtained through colonialism but that doesn't mean they are still colonies cause they are integral parts of france. The reason why france has them it's because it either has to do with the locals who are okay with the status quo due to the fact that there is stability and have a high standard of living or that places that are too small can't function when they are independent.
Is it read mo-yet or ma-yot?
None of these places are "territories". They are considered to be full integral parts of France like the US and Hawaii. Every overseas department citizen is a citizen of France and laterally the EU. They enjoy all the rights, benefits, and trade freedom as any other EU country. If they were to become independent, their economies would collapse and they would lose all benefits of being in the EU and being EU citizens.
You guys should get your videos on nebula it's a great platform
What about St Pierre and Miquelon? Is it immune from these issues?
How much economic activity and development can we reasonably expect to occur in far-flung islands in the middle of nowhere? I'm not sure what these people really want to occur.
Other than tourism or seafood exports, I don't really see what industry many of these Island territories could develop.
what an arrogant sentiment
France has exploited and isolated them for hundreds of years. they must bear the responsibility of re-integrating them them into the global economy. using the wealth they extracted from them. This is not a debate. learn your history and learn some empathy.
@@tany2191 How are these tiny islands going to be "re-integrated into the global economy?" They are thousands of miles from population centers, have no natural resources except for fruits and vegetables, and frankly, were never integrated into the world economy UNTIL they were colonized. If France had never colonized these places, chances are they would not be any more wealthy or developed than they are now due to their remote locales. I'm not sure what throwing western money at them would really accomplish, unless you're funding the relocation of their populaces. And yes, there IS a debate, and you're actively debating it right now. ;)
Many people in the Commores Islands do envy the wealth of the poor persons in Mayotte. Most of real colonies (dominions like Canada or Australia do not qualify as such) were a net financial loss for their metropolitan countries. Notable exceptions, for example, were some parts of South Africa, Kenya, India, and all Malay, most of present day Indonesia and Southern Indochina. That explains a lot why most of them (compare above mentioned exceptions) were so easily abandoned by their imperial masters after WWII. There is a myth that the colonial countries would always be in a better economic and social situation if they were never colonized. The true historical facts are more complicated and nuanced. The case against colonization is better sustained as a moral indignity that disgraces both the metropolitan peoples as the subjugated ones (although, of course, in different degrees) than as an economic necessity.
At least they weren't under Belgium
Talking about Zaire? That was one messed up situation.
I am From French Guyana, and I am happy to be part of France, those people who complain about « European Colonialism » are surely people who don’t understand that we have the same rights, and sometimes even more benefits than those from the mainland. A colony is by definition a territory that’s population is neglected and only occupied by the occupier for the mass exploitation of its resources. We on the other hand have the French passport, the euro, the same rights and representation in the senate, freedom to live and work in the European Union just like a Parisian, some Social Welfare system etc. So no, European colonialism is non existent.
Even New Caledonia who has had far greater autonomy has had two referendum of indépendance and both times (both in the 21st century) have been rejected.
From what I've read, citizens of British overseas territories are only second-class citizens of the UK, itself. They don't have "internal" freedom of movement, for instance. (I may be wrong. I'm not interested enough in this to properly check my facts, so I'll welcome anyone who corrects me.)
Similarly, AFAIK, people from French overseas departments are full citizens, with access to France, itself, and the EU. All they lack is special subsidies to make up for what their local economies lack.
I've heard that in general islands are only paradisical from the perspective of tourists who don't have to actually live there, and can just sample what's best about the island for a few weeks, and then go home with a nice little fiction about island living to become committed to. (I'm on firmer ground, there. I have a friend who survives in the Carribean, who does love the island life, but relishes things being tough, and being forced to be resourceful. Sounds like it's not everyone's cup of tea. It's definitely not a beach, lots of food, and warm water all day.)
OK, so then at least as far as the idea of those from British overseas territories being better off than those from French, I don't get how that is. I wouldn't think twice if I could swap a South African citizenship, and life in Heaven, for a Hell like Mayotte, for instance. I don't think I'd trade for Falkland Islands citizenship - although if it were possible I'd look into it if offered, just in case I'm mistaken. The way I see it is if Mayotte offers some opportunity, there you go: Made. (And it would surely already offer things like better than average education?) If not, well let go, and go to where life is easier. I've talked to some Senagalese guys who hated living in France, but loved the money. You choose what to make of your circumstances. (A sensible person would just dive in and go all out getting absorbed and assimilated - like most of my school mates have done in Australia, etc. Living in a place you refuse to see the good side of isn't going to make you unhappy. It's refusing to see the bright side, and holding on too tightly to what you left behind that does that. Burn your bridges, wash the dust off your feet, and she's good, mate.)
It's also outrageous that there's no future for people living in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall these days. No more wall building contracts, no more smuggling opportunities. Hell on Earth. Which is why you don't see people there these days. They moved South to somewhere else. Some of them even moved to Anatolia, back in the day.
If you're in a place it makes sense to migrate from, and you aren't barred from doing so, the way most people who need to migrate are, you're not badly off, no matter how poorly your own region is doing compared to the other regions of your country. You should rather be outraged at how "freedom" has stuffed up the lives of so many ordinary people who weren't part of the cliques the old colonies were handed over too when the colonial authorities left, and left behind their one-stop-corruption-shops for future business.
actually British overseas territories do get full British Citizenship this was changed in 2002 giving them full citizenship
@@PS-ru2ov Thanks for the correction.
I’m French and lived in Saint-Martin. The island is too small and too dry to do anything else but tourism. Ask any islander if they want self-governance and the answer will be: “Where will my retirement pension come from then? It’s just like in Quebec, they want their independence but money still flowing in from Canada; you can’t have it both ways.
100% correct!
Quebec has a population of 8 millions, a large territory, and border with the United States... they could easily run themselves.
Totally ridiculous to compare Quebec with unpopulated isolated islands.
@@gontrandjojo9747 shut up
it's quite the opposite for Quebec they are refrained in any growth because of english Canadians
Is this video sped up slightly?
Thumbnail is wrong, you know. France never forgets about these territory. Try being for tax. That's the proof that they never forget.
The only "arbitrary" part of these overseas territories are the different "tiers" of autonomy they are granted. While Mayotte - a 95% Black Muslim Island ! - willingly voted to become a fully-fledged Département, other overseas collectivities usually didn't. There is no reason why French Polynesia enjoys a greater autonomy than, say, Guadeloupe.
However, all these countries are French by choice. They have the same rights as mainlanders. They elect MPs and vote for the President (unlike American Samoans, for instance). Some of them have extremely large internal autonomy (Wallis-et-Futuna has customary Kings, French Polynesia its own Prime Minister, New Caledonia electoral map is deliberately skewed to favour natives over settlers...), and very large benefits. Take Mayotte HDI (0.8) and compare it to neighbouring Commorres (0.5). No wonder they want to stay.
You talk about 77% poverty rate in Mayotte - this is because Commorans migrants cross the sea to try and enter France to get a free education, free healthcare! Mayotte, strangely enough, leans *very* right-wing for this very reason.
Last, but not least, many of these territories were virtually uninhabited before settling (like Réunion).
French Polynesia has more autonomy because of its history. Mayotte voted for départementalisation. If French Polynesia votes for that than sure let them become one. But it should be up to them only. I quite like CFP franc banknotes, they're quite pretty and them adopting the euro would be a shame.
France has the 2nd largest maritime domain in the world, making it the 5th largest country in the world in terms of surface area. The United States having the 1st world maritime domain with multiple overseas territories from the base of Guantanamo in Cuba or Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea in Guam, the Mariana Islands for example in the Pacific but their maritime domain does not cover the entire surface of the globe as that of France.
Most other Western European countries also have overseas territories behind that of France, there is also the United Kingdom with for example Gibraltar in Spain, the islands of Bermuda, the islands Falklands( which gave rise to a war in 1982 between the United Kingdom and Argentina for their sovereignty).There is also the Netherlands with the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean that they share with France, so that France and the Netherlands have a common border that they do not have on the European continent.The Spanish have the Canary Islands and the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in Morocco .The Portuguese have the islands of Madeira and the Azores.The Danes have Greenland. The French maritime domain has the advantage of being present all over the world from the French bases of"Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Djibouti in Somalia or islands of Reunion and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean to St Pierre and Miquelon near Canada in the Atlantic Ocean passing the territories of the Pacific and the Arctic while France is bordering the Mediterranean. This allows French nuclear submarines to have bases all over the world because France is the 3rd country in number of nuclear warheads behind Russia and the United States even if some experts consider that now China would have passed before France but it is difficult to verify this in China. In addition with the new technologies it is possible to exploit now the bottom of the seas and oceans and France thus has many deposits of rare metals as in the Pacific in Wallis and Futuna allowing in particular to manufacture sophisticated weapons while New Caledonia is the 5th world producer of nickel alone, hence the covetousness it can arouse for Australia, New Zealand or even the United States. while the Kourou space base in French Guiana is the most ideal space base in the world for launching rockets because it is located just on Ecuador.
In the case of new Caledonia specifically that was a a dumb move for the independence wanting people to boycott the referendum and not participate
There were 3 seperate referendums. The pro-independance only boycotted the last because they knew it would be the same result again (it means a "no" victory). And in which world people vote 3 times only because pro-independance sore losers wanted 3 tries? If the "yes" had won at the first referendum people would not have voted a 2nd or 3rd time.
Why does this video come off as Anti French ? You deliberately leave out GDP of countries around these french territories for a fair comparison. The benefit of French citizenship and The Euro is too much to lose.
All his videos about France feel anti-French. He's very subjective
As a guy from Reunion that do live in Reunion, you CLEARLY don't know your subject at all.
First of all, you can't generalize the situation in vastly different territories scattered all around the globe. The situation here is clearly not the same as in the carribean or in the Pacific.
Second of all, you're TOTALLY wrong when you say that the vast majority of french overseas people feel discriminated against and don't feel integrated into the Republic. In fact, most reunionese, mahorese and martiniquese people (the 3 regions i know best) feel deeply french and the citizenship is engraved inside their hearts.
And yes we do have some social and economics problems, but for Reunion, this has nothing to do with being part of France. Actually we do have the highest standard of living in the Indian Ocean, and are the most insustriallized territory of both Africa and Indian Ocean, specifically BECAUSE we are french.
And no, France DOES NOT prevent us from trading with neighbouring foreing countries, quite the contrary in fact. Our best trade partners are Mauritius, the Seychelles, Madagascar and South Africa. Yes, there is some high poverty rate, but no this isn't because of Paris-centralization. This is because we may not have much ressources there. And also because of some reunionese family monopoly in vital parts of the economy.
And for the insecurity part, Reunion is actually way safer than Paris for example. We basically don't have all the criminality there is in metropolitan France. I can let my smartphone on a table for 10 minutes without supervising it and still have it back. Try to do that in metropolitan France...
As i said, the situation is vastly different from a territory to another.
So before doing such a crappy video about overseas France, you should maybe have gone to these places and interwied their inhabitants, tried to understand mor the social and economic situation there and met intellectuals as well as poor people there. Would have been better.
In 60s The Republic of Guinea 🇬🇳 West Africa was offered along with France’s other African colonies independence with commonwealth status. This meant that France would control their economy even though they are independent. Only Guinea said “No”, we want total independence.” So France destroyed all of Guinea infrastructure from railways to sewage and even electricity that were built by the French during colonial times. Then France said, “NOW, you are FREE.” Somehow their sense of humor escapes me 😹😹😹
De plus ,la France continue de garder un fort contrôle sur l'Afrique occidentale par le biais de du franc CFA ,des opérations militaires ,des bases etc... mais cela n'a rien à voir avec le traitement des territoires d'outres-mer français actuelle ,qui malgré les problèmes et les dissensions ,reste des territoires qui reconnaisse une certaine nationalité française, mais bon on rentrera toujours en conflit avec le modèle ethno-centré anglo-saxon...
Important video
Can someone explain to me how decentralization is the solution ? Because in my opinion it will at best change nothing, or worsen the situation.
For example, in the Antilles the main economic problem is that slave owners' heirs control an enormous part of the economy and decentralization will not help. Quite the opposite in my opinion because French government money will no longer protect poor people.
The problem of Mayotte is that a lot of Comorians are migrating to Mayotte because they are poor, so they are poor and they will not stop being poor overnight, especially since French social mobility is broken since the school has lost its level. And again decentralization will not help because letting only poor people fund the school can only make it worst, see American public school in poor neighboorhoods.
Maybe compare those territories to the neighboring countries ? Every year in France some of them want their independencies and every year it fails because they rely on the sweet Paris money at the end of the day
How can you compare a territory on the other side of the world with the European part of France? Its ridiculous.
The real measurement would be compared to similar territories in the region. Are they better off with France, or alone like their neighbors?
When they all voted to stay in and that the vote were not influenced by the state maybe people will finally agree that this territory Want to be in part of france, they are as equal as every french métropolitain citizens and they are considered European.
@@valac7820
Only because of handouts and they don't have the means to survive as independent countries.
You seems to not like France on this channel :)
Basically, if their melonated, they're not cared for
France has the most time zones of any nation... considering how spread out they are, what is the time zone per capita rating?
not french - but from what i've seen in geopolitics all over
unless people of smaller countries have leaders like lee kuan yew - who they are wiling to follow and turn into singapore
the smaller countries eventually always end up getting messed up even if they mess up a little
while larger countries like argentina can create a pigs breakfast of their economy and still tide over because of the size of their economy and country
also decentralized countries with larger size work best example india and usa - both grew slowly but eventually made it through stability - india still needs a long time
smaller countries always need some sort of protector - so in my opinion these island colonies should only seek autonomy but not independence - since it also allows them to go to france and enter EU without problems , plus territorial safety through nato etc.
This is so much a british point of view. You culturaly dont see it the same way as us.
Are you willing to explain your cultural point of view about these French overseas territories?
@@folk2630 maybe I can explain at his place because I'm french and voilà. The way is the point of view of france have a republicanist and assimilationist inheritance ,that means france want to put the different cultures into one single nation ,with his own identity .the anglo-saxon view is more decentralized and ethnocentric ,that's also because they see the economy instead of people.
No, I'm not the least bit surprised. I went to school in the 1960's when France had territories in Africa.
Remember French West Africa?
One claims to gain independence and when it comes to a referedum, denies to take part in order to keep blaiming someone else. It doesn't look very mature, to say the least.
@@AngryAmericanWizard Actually no, I don't get it. Please help me out.
If more than half of the voters refused to participate and a considerable part of those in favor of independence did, that should be a landslide victory for independence, enough even to change the way (before or after the referendum) the question was drafted (I suppose).
France is certainly not a dictatorship, it didn't act like it's neighbour Spain, which denies any referendums at all, so I don't really get it.
@@evaristoabrahao2216 they knew they had no chances in the third referendum, but if the anti independence didn't move their @$$ to the voting boxes a third time... wining by attrition was the only way for the pro independence...
and the results simply show one thing: if the pro independence didn't boycott the last referendum, they still would have lost. Math and projections don't lie.
The best they could hope for was an even closer result and that the anti independence didn't show up because they were tired of this repeated question...
simply look at the result of the 3 referendum and do the projections and math on the what if the abstainers did in fact show up (1st referendum: 80ish turnout for a 56ish% no, 2nd referendum: 85ish% turnout for a 53ish% no, 3rd referendum: 44ish% turnout for a 96ish% no)
You can expect a hard limit of the turnout to high 80ish% (higher than 88% would be a miracle, imo)
Question is (and I dont know the answer): How are independent nearby territories going if compared with these overseas French territories? A bit like, "comunist" Cuba might not be an economic power BUT is still better than "capitalist" Haiti.
In general I believe the French territories are vastly richer then their immediate neighbors. And they tend to be away from the main trade lanes of the world as well. So their local circumstances aren't the easiest one could have for developing economically.
That's was my assumption but thanks for posting. Based on this we fimd ourselves in the cynical point...true that they might not be treated as French people in the mainland but on the other hand being an overseas territory puts them in a better position than close independent neighbours. No right answer I'm afraid
As an interesting extra wrinkle, not all the overseas territories are even considered territories. French Guiana for instance is considered a part of France proper, as are some of the others. See this page for that really, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_departments_and_regions_of_France
This is why the video is talking about the French government treating them all the same. What that means is they get all the same rights, voting and all as everyone else. This so far I know also means they can freely travel to Europe as well and go work there instead if they so desire.
As such the video is in some ways kind of deceptive in presenting the reality of things. Though one can of course wonder if some more local rule options could help, rather then run as any other county of France. They are quite distant after all.
Comores: Wants independance.
Also Comores: Hundreds of thousands of illegal Comorians enter Mayotte. Llll
Doesn't the UK own Diego Garcia in the Indian ocean and the Oeno islands in the Pacific?
Yes they do. And it is a major staging area for US forces in the Middle East and Indian Ocean theaters.
Considering poeple who absent referendum vote is quite wrong assumption, voters apathy can have lots of different reasons. Comparing those "poor" teritories with europeans living standards is one sided, but when you compare them with their independent neighbours its shows different story. They are still colonies they can find symbiosis in that relationship. Most of the undeveloped ex-colonies are in really bad state compared to those that are still part of bigger subject. Of course there are ex-collonies that are doing fine by them self, but usually they are much more developed before they became subject of another empire. Whole decolonisations was done in chaotic manner, it should have been slower and gradual. And after that when population was well educated and it had its own local political system, functional goverment and services, then it should have independece. But it was not this way and so it ended up really bloody most of the time, especially because of cold war.
Europe had no resources to keep up these colonies following World War II, much less fight the various paramilitary movements that were being provoked by the Soviets. It was easier just to give them independence and let the chips fall where they may. Actually, given the lack of funds and Europe itself being in physical ruin, there really wasn't a choice.
If it makes these people feel better, no one feels that the bureaucrats care about any of us no matter where we come from.
I doubt your sentiment makes "these people" feel better at all.
The first minute seems to explain why the country is still standing besides being an EU beneficiary in power outreach along with Germany.
playing this at 0.75 sounds like a normal speed of talking lmao
I'm from Martinique and visual politics is right about décentralisation, it is not logical to have the same rule and législation applied in a teritorry situed 6000 km from metropol france ,these territories need more décision freedom to be able to develop themselve without having to rely on france money to sustain themselve. this is a economic reality.
I would love to agree but is this realistic ? Just asking.
Votre vidéo est remplie de biais interprétatifs et de part de subjectivité. Oui il y a plus de pauvreté en outre-mer, mais vis à vis des voisins de ces territoires, ils sont bien moins élévés. De plus, la colère qu'il peut y avoir sur le niveau de vie n'est que très peu diriger vers une envie d'indépendance. De plus, les referendums sur l'indépendance en Nouvelle-Calédonie étaient organisés favorablement aux indépendantistes puisqu'ils privaient une large partie des loyalistes du droit de vote.
Decentralisation is probably best. France seems to be acting king, despite not being a monarchy, and the French should know better than anyone that eventually the concept of monarchy will always fall.
Feedback:-
Sir please slow down a bit, not all of your viewers are native english speakers. Hope you find it constructive. 👍
Is it just me or are this guys teeth only half white while the other side is stained?
yes it is.
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I'd compare French Guiana's GNP per capita and HDI with its neighbour Brazilian State of Amapa.
Propped up by France.
@@shauncameron8390 Not sure what difference that makes.
they have one of the strongest passeports , they benefit from a good welfare system , they have the opportunity to work in one of the most markets ine the world which is the EU all of that and they are forgotten ? they are not forgotten, the problem because of their geogophical location with poor neigbouring islands ... i think the referendum is a very bad idea remember lebanon when macrom came for a visit the people told him that hhey want to be an overseas france territory....
France must grant more autonomy and make infrastructure projects on these overseas territories,they should stop this dependence the territories on the central government
"France must grant more autonomy"
-> rejected by vote from the locals or it's already in place. + France is since 1992 decentralised and deconcentralised. So it's already the case on many point.
"make infrastructure projects"
-> look at the "route du littoral" at reunion island to see that it's can be criticise, and infrastructure isnt more inportant than welfare
"they should stop this dependence the territories on the central government"
-> told you, law of 1992
-> economicly speaking, well they are islands, like any islands it's difficult because of geography
Inacurate. Theese territories are much more complex that described. I lived in French Antillas for 1Y, Guyana 1Y, Raiatea 1Y and New Caledonia 1Y. Only new caledonians natives would like to be independant, but to talk about it, you have to talk about China and Nickel mines. French territories people benefits french free health care and financial assistance for unemployed people, in such regions of the world it's a valuable advantage, even if there is some disparities.
Bullsh.t Martinique French Guiana gaudeloupe always have protests about about how French run those countries
@@MrInternationalSound Your statements are based on what you've watched or read in foreign press or you lived in theese teritories (not coutrys actually). Come on, argue a bit more, i'm interessed 🙂
Something that is not not much talked about. Thanks for this
I feel like this video is not fair to France. You did not compare these areas to similar areas nearby not owned by France. I would be curious to see how they compare to their neighborhoods not mainland Europe. apples to oranges
sometimes this channel tells something, but do not mention very important details. Just to push their view on their viewers, I guess. Still love the channel, just have to use my own brain, other sources to make sure I got fed objective info.
Le soleil ne se couche jamais sur la République Française
New Caledonia among the 20 richest countries in the world
I don't understand your point about not participating in the referendum. Could you please explain? If they think they have the majority, just vote and win - why abstain and then claim they would have won?
they knew they wouldn't win
what was it again? a 44% turnout with 96.5% no... the previous ones were 80 and 85% turnout with 57 and 53% no...
even if they did vote with a similar turnout as the previous ones, they wouldn't have won the independence. The math doesn't lie. Only if enough no voters chose to not go vote for a 3rd time, would have the result changed...
to boycott was a way to say it wasn't valid... but the results were so obvious that it doesn't stand a chance
Quorum. Even with a 70% yes vote, if less than 50% of the people participate, you don't have a simple majority of all residence agreeing to it. At best you have a plurality. Quorums are just as if not MORE important than having a simple majority.
The sky is the opposite of photogenic
Who let this dude on camera😂
Another excellent video. It is fascinating that France has managed to pass off what are effectively colonies as parts of the French state. Britain has by far the most territories on the UN’s list of non-self-governing territories (colonies) and yet France comes under very little scrutiny for its own.
@yuck futubube True with all of the republics in eg. the Caucasus. Just because they border the core of Russia, they often get overseen.
@yuck futubube The french révolution was better, they end up in a democracy while Russia end up in a Dictatorship !
I think it because of france great exploitative nature and hypocritical nature particularly regard africa and in it support for dictatorship in Africa. Even comparing how the various colonies of both country has faired after independence.
@@taoriq3632 all humans are sinners but only few recognise their mistakes and try to fix them!☝️
@@kugul1683 but caucas was never free country. In fact I think Azerbaijan should rejoin Iran so they will erase foreign Turkish language. Azerbaijan was always part of the Iran, and it should continue to be so
I'm not saying that this video is wrong but it does over simplify very divers situations. Some Islands are artificially inhabited by the military and a few scientists only to earn the big influence zone like the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, Clipperton, Saint Pierre and Miquelon... For the truly inhabited ones they are integral part of France with all social benefits (free health care, retirement, good schools) that not only make them way richer than the neighboring countries but also richer than many people in the continental US. If those places truly wanted independence they definitely would get it but they don't. It's not hard to understand that it's easier to make a factory in the metropolitan France being the center piece of the EU rather than in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. More controversial but I can vouched for having experienced it, there is a tropical way of life where you can find food and live with a t-shirt and a short that doesn't promote much entrepreneurship part of that is the local culture but not a fatality there are many social ladders that can or not be used like the schools, the army and subsides development plans. Next you have overpopulation that shows way more on a small volcanic island where only the coast is livable. Even this is a massive oversimplification but there is one thing that make them very French it's that they don't like what they have but don't want it to change unless someone else pays for it.
Saint-pierre and Miquelon is not artificially inhabited, it's population can be tracked to the 1700's. You're maybe mistaking with Kerguelen, Saint-Paul and New amsterdam, Crozet or Adélie land.
@@leosimon241 absolutely right, my bad. But still a population that would fit in a big cruise ship and a good example how diverse all these French territory can be with different challenges and opportunities but none of them neglected.
So, no taxation w/out representation.