Saint-Martin : the islande with two faces | Doc du dimanche | France 5

Saint Martin, a tiny island of 90 square kilometres, lost between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, is part of the West Indies. It is famous for its white sand and its turquoise waters. What’s special about it ? The island is divided into two. One part belongs to France, the other to the Dutch West Indies. That may not seem important, but on this little rock lost in the ocean, war has been declared between the two communities. Because, although more than 450,000 visitors come to the island, it’s a question of which of the two countries will attract the most tourists. And in this conflict, France is losing the battle. A disaster for this island, which only survives because of tourism, and which already suffers an unemployment rate twice as high as that of metropolitan France. Heads and tails, this documentary takes a dive into life on this Franco-Dutch fiscal paradise.