Judicial branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique
Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG
[Christian CELESTE]; Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri
BANGOU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Aldo BLAISE]; Socialist
Party or PS [Georges LOUISOR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF
[Marcel ESDRAS]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Christian Movement for the
Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG; General Federation of Guadeloupe
Workers or CGT-G; General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG;
Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI
International organization participation: FZ, WCL, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas department of
France)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas department of
France)
Flag description: three horizontal bands, a narrow green band (top), a wide red band, and a narrow green band; the green bands are separated from the red band by two narrow white stripes; a gold five-pointed star is centered in the red band toward the hoist side; the flag of France is used for official occasions
Guadeloupe Economy
Economy - overview: The economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on imported food, mainly from France. Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.7 billion (1997 est.)