France Settles 400-Year-Old Territorial Dispute with the Netherlands
The National Assembly of France has approved a law on the ratification of an agreement with the Netherlands, which definitively defines the state border on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. Thus, the countries have taken an important step towards resolving a territorial dispute that lasted almost 400 years, writes Politico.
The document approves the agreement signed by France and the Netherlands in 2023 on the precise delimitation of the border between the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin and the Dutch self-governing territory of Sint Maarten.
The island of Saint Martin is located in the Caribbean Sea and is divided between two states. France owns the northern part of the island, and the Netherlands owns the southern part. However, for many years, residents could move freely between both territories, as there was no actual border infrastructure.
The history of the island's division began back in 1648, when France and the Netherlands agreed to divide it between themselves. However, the exact border line was not defined at that time. For centuries, only a conditional border existed, which periodically caused disagreements regarding the issuance of permits, law enforcement activities, and the management of natural resources, especially in the lagoon area located between the two parts of the island.
The need to finally resolve this issue became particularly evident after the devastating Hurricane Irma in 2017, which damaged over 95 percent of the buildings on the island. After the natural disaster, Paris and Amsterdam intensified negotiations on the legal formalization of the border.
Bertrand Bouyx, a member of the French National Assembly who presented the bill in parliament, stated that France can be proud of having settled one of its oldest territorial disputes.
For the agreement to come into force, it still needs to be ratified by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. After that, the new border will acquire full legal status.
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