Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French legal system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Jean-Francois CORDET (since NA) head of government : President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Emile CAPGRAS (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: prefect appointed by the president of France on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Assembly or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: General Council - last held NA March 1994 (next to be held NA 2000); Regional Assembly - last held on 22 March 1992 (next to be held by March 1998) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR-UDF 16, MIM 9, PPM 9, PCM 5, independents 2 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 1995 (next to be held September 1998); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PS 2; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 21 March 1993 (next to be held 25 May-1 June 1997 - special election); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 3, PS 1
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel
Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre
LESUEUR]; Union for a Martinique of Progress or UMP; Martinique
Progressive Party or PPM [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Socialist Federation of
Martinique or FSM [Jean CRUSOL]; Martinique Communist Party or PCM
[George ERICHOT]; Martinique Patriots or PM; Union for French
Democracy or UDF [Miguel LAVENTURE]; Martinique Independence Movement
or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Republican Party or PR [Jean BAILLY]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Proletarian Action Group or
GAP; Alhed Marie-Jeanne Socialist Revolution Group or GRS; Caribbean
Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or
CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and
Peasants; Parti Martiniquais Socialiste or PMS; Association for the
Protection of Martinique's Heritage (ecologist)
International organization participation: FZ, WCL, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas department of
France)