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

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:
4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

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 LENORMANDI (since 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 - 15 from Saint Pierre and 4 from Miquelon; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 6-year terms)
note: Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect 1 member to the French Senate; elections last held on 28 September 2014 (next to be held not later than September 2017); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AD 1 (affiliated with UMP); Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects 1 member to the French National Assembly; elections last held on 17 June 2012 (next to be held by June 2017); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Ensemble pour l'Avenir 1 (affiliated with PRG)
elections: elections last held on 19 March 2017 (next to be held in March 2023)
election results: percent of vote by party - AD 70.2%, Cap sur l'Avenir 29.8%; seats by party - AD 17, Cap sur l'Avenir 2

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): 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

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
UPU, WFTU (NGOs)

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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (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)