National holiday: Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Philippe DE MESTER (since 18 September 2001) elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term head of government: cabinet: NA
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms) elections: last held 7 October 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May and 1 June 1997 (next to be held as a special election on NA May 2002); results - percent of vote by party - UDF/FD 51.7%, RPR 48.3%; seats by party - UDF/FD 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA];
Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Younoussa BAMANA]; Federation of Mahorans
or RPR [Moustoifa MOHAMED]; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or
MDM [Younoussa BEN ALI]; Socialist Party or PS (local branch of French
Parti Socialiste) [Ibrahim ABUBACAR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF
[Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]; note - may no longer be in existence
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: FZ