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And here's an interesting story about its political position:

ST BARTH WEEKLY No31 - page 3

TOWARD A NEW POLITICAL STATUS

For anyone who may have forgotten, the
island of Saint-Barth is living a very
significant moment in its history. Modifi-
cations made in the French Constitution
in 2003 allowed Saint-Barth to request a
new governmental status, separating it
from the island of Guadeloupe, to which
it has been legally attached since 1948, as
one of 32 communities. Given more poli-
tical autonomy, this new Oversea Col-
lectivity will mean (among other things)
that residents will not be subject to the
payment of French national taxes, but
will pay local taxes instead. The process
is well underway, as overseas minister
Brigitte Giradin reminded us during her
visit last July. And it has just been a
month since her technical advisor, Stephane
Diemert, came to present a draft
of the law that will cover the future res-
ponsibilities of the new collectivity. The
minister expects the project to see the
light of day in the first quarter of 2005.
After local elections, the mayor and his
municipal council will respectively be
replaced by a "president" and a "general
council" that will include an elected "exe
cutive council" that will deliberate impor-
tant day-to-day matters. Mayor Bruno
Magras, the chief author of this political
evolution, says that "this autonomy does
not mean cutting loose, or independence.
This gives us a larger hand in running
the island". Last but not least, and for a
better understanding of this change, it is
important to note that never before has
such a dramatic change from a "commu-
nity" to a "collectivity" with such a degree
of self-goverment taken place in Fran-
ce. Saint-Martin, our closest neighbor,
has also requested the same change in
political status.