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 Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) 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 NA March 1998 (next to be held by March 2004) 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-NA 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 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-RPR 2, PS 1, independent 1
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel
Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre
LESUEUR]; Martinique Forces [Maurice LAOUCHEZ]; Martinique Socialist
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]; National Council
of Popular Committees [Robert SAE]; Rally for Democratic Martinique
[Felix HILAIRE-FORTUNE]; Movement for a Liberated Martinique [Philippe
PETIT]; Union for the Renewal of Ste. Marie [Guy LORDINOT]; Combat
Worker [Gerard BEAUJOUR]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Proletarian Action Group or GAP; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES]; Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Association for the Protection of Martinique's Heritage (ecologist) [Garcin MALSA]
International organization participation: FZ, WCL, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas department of
France)