Bringing up the unpredictable US president, Donald Trump, with the residents of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon inevitably prompts two simultaneous reactions. One is a mocking remark about the apparent madness of the man, while the other is a reference to the lessons of history in this unique French overseas territory in the North Atlantic. The residents firmly believe that the archipelago will stand up against any attack, much like Admiral Émile Muselier, the first general officer to join Charles de Gaulle in June 1940 and who organized Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon’s rallying to free France on Christmas Day 1941.

The territory’s elected officials are taking hold of the issue. Senator Annick Girardin, the former minister for overseas territories and later for maritime affairs under Emmanuel Macron (2017 – 2022), questioned the government on January 21 during a session about the recent decision to assign part of the airspace management (the approach zone, below 6,000 feet) to Canadian authorities. “France is not able to send three civil servants to manage the control tower and is delegating part of its airspace to Canada. I am told this is a technical decision that does not affect sovereignty, but it is not a good signal in the current context,” the lawmaker told Le Monde. Her party, Cap sur l’avenir, a center-left group, holds power in the archipelago’s two towns.

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