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The wikipedia article for Vichy France has a pretty good map, a low-res version of which I'll put here:

enter image description here

The map shows which territories were originally Vichy, and when they changed to Free French control (except for the yellow states in Southeast Asia, which came under Japanese control).

However, it's missing two French Territories: Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy. The two skyblue islands you see in the Caribbean are actually Guadeloupe and Martinique.

I would like to know if Saint Martin (the French possession, not the whole island) and Saint Barthelemy were originally under Vichy control, and when they came under Free France control. Who was governing them at the time and what statements did they make after 1940 June?

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  • Technically the countries The Netherlands and France don't share a common border on Sint Maarten, since Sint Maarten and The Netherlands are separate autonomous countries within an entity called "The Kingdom of The Netherlands". So there is a border between the countries France and St. Maarten.
    – Ruud Zwart
    Oct 18, 2017 at 9:10
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    That is very recent. In the period under debate France and The Netherlands did share a common border.
    – Jos
    Oct 19, 2017 at 2:00
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    Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin were formerly dependencies of Guadeloupe. Their separation from Guadeloupe is fairly recent (21st century). During the war, presumably they would have been under whichever régime Guadeloupe favored.
    – JTM
    May 28, 2018 at 19:18

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It helps being able to search in French.

From wiki - Histoire_de_Saint-Martin

De juillet 1940 à août 1944: la partie française de Saint-Martin est sous le régime de Vichy et dirigé par gouverneur Constant Sorin en Guadeloupe ; la zone néerlandaise, fidèle à la reine Wilhelmine des Pays-Bas en exil, est associée aux Alliés.

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From July 1940 to August 1944: the French part of Saint-Martin is under the Vichy regime and directed by Governor Constant Sorin in Guadeloupe; the Dutch zone, loyal to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in exile, is associated with the Allies.

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It was part of Vichy France. You didn't mention St Pierre and Miquelon. These small islands close to Newfoundland were also under Vichy control, until taken with (very little) force by the Free French. They still are French possessions today.

I don't know when Saint Martin came under Free French control, it must have been before 1943, because in that year crown princess Juliana visited the island. I doubt very much if the heir to the throne would do that, if the other half was under Vichy France control. Saint Martin is also Sint Maarten. The island is shared by France and The Netherlands. It's the only place where those two countries share a common border.

I'm only talking about Saint Martin/Sint Maarten. I assume - but don't know for sure - both islands were under Vichy French control.

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    I didn't mention St Pierre and Miquelon because I had no question about it. It's already shown on the map and I already read about its status, that it was taken over by Free France fairly early. It was part of Vichy France. Please be clear what you mean by "it". Saint Martin? Saint Barthelemy? Both? BTW I will edit the OP to make it clear that I refer to the French possession, not the whole island.
    – DrZ214
    Oct 16, 2017 at 7:15
  • I added the part about St Pierre for other readers.
    – Jos
    Oct 16, 2017 at 7:36

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