Country name:
conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon
local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
etymology: Saint-Pierre is named after Saint PETER, the patron saint of fishermen; Miquelon may be a corruption of the Basque name Mikelon

Dependency status:
overseas collectivity of France

Government type:
parliamentary democracy (Territorial Council); overseas collectivity of France

Capital:
name: Saint-Pierre
geographic coordinates: 46 46 N, 56 11 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
etymology: named after Saint Peter, the patron saint of fisherman

Administrative divisions:
none (territorial overseas collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 2 communes at the second order - Saint Pierre, Miquelon

Independence:
none (overseas collectivity collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763)

National holiday:
Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1790)

Constitution:
history: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
amendments: amendment procedures of France's constitution apply (2018)

Legal system:
French civil law

Citizenship:
see France

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017); represented by Prefect Thierry DEVIMEUX (since 17 January 2018)
head of government: President of Territorial Council Stephane LENORMAND (since 24 October 2017)
cabinet: Le Cabinet du Prefet
elections/appointments: French president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 23 April and 6 May 2017 (next to be held in 2022); prefect appointed by French president on the advice of French Ministry of Interior

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Territorial Council or Conseil Territorial (19 seats - Saint Pierre 15, Miquelon 4; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 6-year terms);
Saint Pierre and Miquelon indirectly elects 1 senator to the French Senate by an electoral college to serve a 6-year term and directly elects 1 deputy to the French National Assembly by absolute majority vote to serve a 5-year term
elections: Territorial Council - last held on 19 March 2017 (next to be held in March 2023)
French Senate - last held on 24 September 2017 (next to be held no later than September 2020)
French National Assembly - last held on 11 and 18 June 2017 (next to be held by June 2022)
election results: Territorial Council - percent of vote by party - AD 70.2%, Cap sur l'Avenir 29.8%; seats by party - AD 17, Cap sur l'Avenir 2; composition - men 10, women 9, percent of women 47.4%
French Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PS 1 (affiliated with UMP)
French National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Ensemble pour l'Avenir 1 (affiliated with PRG); the Republicans (LR) 1

Judicial branch:
highest courts: Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel (composition NA)
judge selection and term of office: judge selection and tenure NA
subordinate courts: NA

Political parties and leaders:
Archipelago Tomorrow or AD (affiliated with UMP)
Cap sur l'Avenir [Annick GIRARDIN] (affiliated with Left Radical Party)
Togerther for the Future (Ensemble pour l'Avenir) (affiliated with PRG) SPM ensemble

International organization participation:
UPU, WFTU (NGOs)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

Flag description:
a yellow three-masted sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a blue background with scattered, white, wavy lines under the ship; a continuous black-over-white wavy line divides the ship from the white wavy lines; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other; these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy; the blue on the main portion of the flag symbolizes the Atlantic Ocean and the stylized ship represents the Grande Hermine in which Jacques Cartier "discovered" the islands in 1536
note: the flag of France used for official occasions

National symbol(s):
16th-century sailing ship

National anthem:
note: as a collectivity of France, "La Marseillaise" is official (see France)