Reunion (France)
Réunion or La Réunion (French: La Réunion; Réunion Creole: La Rényon) is an island located in the western Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, in the southern hemisphere. It is both an overseas department and constituted as an outermost region of the European Union. Like the rest of the overseas departments, it is also a region of France and is part of the French Republic.
Toponymy
When France took possession of the island in the 17th century, they named it Bourbon, after the dynasty that then ruled the island. To break with this name, too linked to the Old Regime, the National Convention decided, on March 23, 1793, to change the name of the territory to Reunion Island. This choice could have been made in homage to the meeting of the federates of Marseille and the Parisian National Guards that preceded the insurrection of August 10, 1792 and the march on the Tuileries palace, but no document justifies it and the meaning of the word "meeting" it could have been purely symbolic.
The island changed its name again in the 19th century: in 1806, under the First Empire, General Decaen He named it Isla Bonaparte, and in 1810 it became Isla Borbon again. It became definitively Reunion Island after the fall of the July Monarchy by a provisional government decree on March 7, 1848.
According to the original spelling and classical spelling and typographical rules, "Meeting" it was written with a lower case in the article, but at the end of the XX century the spelling "Meeting& was developed in many writings #3. 4; capitalized to emphasize the integration of the article in the name. This last spelling corresponds to the recommendations of the National Toponymy Commission and appears in the current Constitution of the French Republic in articles 72-3 and 73
History
Discovery and first inhabitants
Austronesian explorers traversing the Indian Ocean from Indonesia to Madagascar and Africa many centuries before Christ may have sighted the Mascarene Islands and thus Reunion Island. Later, in the X century, Arab navigators discovered the island of Réunion and named it "Dîna morgabin . 4;.
The island appeared completely uninhabited when Portuguese ships arrived in the 16th century en route to the Indies.
A Portuguese navigator, Diogo Dias, is said to have landed there in July 1500. Another Portuguese navigator, Pedro de Mascarenhas, landed there on February 9, 1512 or 1513, the day of Saint Apollonia, when he was on his way to Goa. The island then appears on Portuguese maps under the name of Santa Apolonia. Around 1520, Réunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues receive the name of the Mascarenas Archipelago, after the name of Mascarenhas. Today these three islands are commonly known as the Mascarenes.
In the early 17th century century, the island was a stopover on the route to India for English and Dutch ships. On March 23, 1613, the Dutch admiral Pierre-Guillaume Veruff, returning from Java, stopped at La Réunion. An Anglophone navigator named the island, still uninhabited, after the forest of England.
The French then landed to take possession of it in the name of the king in 1642 and named it the island of the Bourbons, in honor of the royal family. In 1646, twelve mutineers expelled from Madagascar were abandoned on the island of Réunion.
It was in 1665 that the first twenty settlers from Bourbon Island arrived. Five ships made up the squadron commanded by Mr. Véron: the Águila Blanca, the Virgen, the Buen Puerto, the San Pablo and the Toro. The flagship flew the flag of the East India Company. The Loire River was still icy when the fleet left the Quai de la Fosse in Nantes in early February 1665. Making its way to the ports and settlements on the Malabar coast and the Bay of Bengal, it reached the island of Bourbon on July 9, 1665. The voyage was marked by a tragedy, with twelve victims, during the stopover in Cape Verde on Holy Thursday, March 4, 1665. The following April 11, after paying the last homage to his dead, the fleet set sail again. "He continued his journey without accidents," says the chronicler Urbain Souchu de Rennefort.
Among the twenty settlers from France, the presence of Hervé Dannemont (later Dennemont) stands out, born on December 17, 1635 in Brix (Manche), son of Jacques Dannemont, master glassmaker, and Marie Lecarpentier. He married around 1668 in Saint-Paul with Léonarde Pillé, a native of Granville. Hervé Dennemont died on November 16, 1678. The Dannemonts of Normandy are represented, today, by about thirty families on the island of Reunion. They are also found in Mauritius and Madagascar. In Normandy, the family died out in the 18th century century, having changed the name to Dalmont (his descendants are well known thanks to Camille Ricquebourg, author of the Dictionnaire généalogique des familles de Bourbon).
Françoise Châtelain arrived during this period and is at the origin of several well-known Bourbon families.
Starting in 1715, the island experienced an important economic boom with the development of coffee cultivation and exports. This culture was the origin of the considerable development of slavery in the colony. Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, the island's governor from 1735 to 1745, brought a strategic dimension to the island's development, which became a supplier of food for the Île-de-France (present-day Mauritius) and for the participating French fleet. in the Franco-English war in India. Let us also mention the role of the mayor Pierre Poivre, who considerably enriched the local flora and diversified agricultural resources by introducing numerous tropical species, and in particular cloves and nutmeg, whose trade flourished in the XVIII and early XIX century.
Revolutionary riots
On March 19, 1793, during the Revolution, its name was changed to "Reunion Island " in homage to the meeting of the Federates of Marseille and the National Guards of Paris, during the march on the Tuileries Palace on August 10, 1792, and to erase the name of the Bourbon dynasty. On September 26, 1806, the island took the name of Bonaparte and found itself in the front line of the Franco-British conflict for control of the Indian Ocean.
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The abolition of slavery voted by the National Convention on February 4, 1794 was rejected by the Island of Reunion, as well as by the Island of France (Mauritius). A delegation accompanied by military forces, in charge of imposing the liberation of the slaves, arrives on the island of Bourbon on June 18, 1796, to be immediately mercilessly expelled. A period of unrest and challenges to the power of the metropolis, which no longer had any authority over the two islands, followed. The first consul of the Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte, maintained slavery there, which was never abolished in practice, with the law of May 20, 1802.
During the Napoleonic Wars, in the Mauritius campaign, the island's governor, General Sainte-Suzanne, was forced to capitulate on July 9, 1810. The island then came under British rule and was returned to the French under the Treaty of Paris of 1814.
After the climatic catastrophes of 1806-1807 (cyclones, floods), the cultivation of coffee decreased rapidly and was replaced by that of sugar cane, whose demand in France increased, due to the loss by France of Saint -Domingue, and soon from the island of France (Mauritius). Due to its growth cycle, sugarcane is not affected by cyclones. In 1841, Edmond Albius's discovery of hand-pollination of vanilla flowers soon made the island the world's leading producer of vanilla. He also took off the cultivation of geranium, the essence of which is widely used in perfumery.
From 1838 to 1841, Rear Admiral Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell was Governor of the island. A profound change in society and mentality linked to the events of the last ten years led the governor to present three emancipation projects to the Colonial Council.
On December 20, 1848, Sarda Garriga finally proclaimed the abolition of slavery (December 20 was a holiday in La Réunion). Louis Henri Hubert Delisle became its first Creole governor on August 8, 1852, and remained in this position until January 8, 1858. Europe increasingly turned to beets for its sugar needs. Despite the development policy of the local authorities and the resort to compromise, the economic crisis became apparent from the 1870s. Subsequently, the opening of the Suez Canal caused a displacement of commercial traffic outside the island. However, this economic depression did not prevent the modernization of the island, with the development of the road network, the creation of the railway and the construction of the artificial port of the Pointe des Galets. These large construction sites offered a welcome alternative to farm workers.
Wars and modernization
The second half of the XIX century witnessed the evolution of the population of Réunion, with the massive arrival of Indian bonded laborers, some of whom settled permanently on the island, and with the release of immigration in 1862. Many Chinese and Indian Muslims settled then, forming two important communities that contributed to ethnic and cultural diversification.
Starting at the end of the 19th century, the sources of commitment gradually dried up. Many landowners rented their land (a practice of colonization), which gave rise to a population of independent agricultural workers. Coffee production is destroyed by 75% in two decades, between 1880 and 1900, due to the spread of a disease from Ceylon and the English and Dutch colonies.
Reunion's participation in World War I meant that many Réunionans were sent to fight in the metropolis and on the Greek front. 14,000 reunionenses were mobilized to the front. The Roland Garros aviator, a native of Réunion Island, covered himself with glory and died in heaven in 1918. Admiral Lucien Lacaze was appointed Minister of the Navy and then Minister of War from 1915 to 1917. The war had favorable economic consequences for Reunion Island: sugar production rose sharply and prices rose as metropolitan France was deprived of its sugar beet land, the scene of the fighting. However, about 80% of the Creoles who wanted to enlist were declared unfit for military service, and the press spoke of the "failure of the race," but it is likely that the economic interests of local planters will play the main role in this state of affairs.
The surviving Reunionians were affected upon their return by the 1918 flu pandemic that hit La Réunion from March 1919 for 3 months. The flu was brought by the Poilus reunionenses with the ship Madonna. The epidemic seems to have spread to the entire population and reduced life expectancy to less than 40 years. Although the island was already in the throes of an economic crisis since the late XIX century, the poorest neighborhoods were affected and impoverished. It is estimated that at least 2,000 people died in the capital, Saint-Denis, for a population of 25,000, and that between 7,000 and 20,000 people died among the 175,000 who lived on the island. There were more deaths than the 1,300 Poilus reunionenses that fell on the field of honor.
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During the interwar period, modernization continued: electricity appeared in wealthy homes and provided public lighting in Saint-Denis. The telegraph (1923) and the radio (1926) put the inhabitants of Réunion in contact with the world. In 1939, 1,500 privileged households subscribed to the telephone. Vehicles and planes appeared. The sugar industry is concentrated and joint stock companies replace the individual operators of sugar factories. This progress mainly benefited the households of landowners, industrialists, executives and large merchants, while the mass of the population remained poor. Another important fact of the interwar period was that the death rate decreased and the birth rate, which was very high, increased, leading to exponential population growth, which continues to this day.
The Second World War was a very hard ordeal: although the island of Réunion was spared from the fighting, it suffered terribly from the almost total cessation of its supplies. On November 28, 1942, Free French forces landed on the island: the local administration loyal to the Vichy government was overthrown and the territory came under Free French control.
Modern history
On March 19, 1946, La Réunion became a French overseas department and then, in 1997, one of the seven outermost regions of the European Union.
At the time of the departmentalization, Réunion was in ruins. However, the metropolis made great efforts to rebuild the economy and achieve social progress. Compulsory education was a decisive step. The launch, with a slight delay, of the social security system in France was a considerable improvement. In the early 1950s, malaria, a major health plague for a century, was eradicated. The number of hospital beds tripled in ten years.
This was followed by a significant improvement in public health, causing a considerable drop in mortality and a galloping increase in the population, with a birth rate reaching a record level of almost 50 per thousand. At the end of the war, regular air connections placed La Réunion only three days from the mainland. Another consequence of departmentalization: a considerable increase in the number of well-paid civil servants, which generated a new commercial flow that caused the appearance of a middle class that lived from commerce, liberal activities, and managerial functions. The election of Michel Debré as deputy in 1962 was a considerable boost to development, due to the magnitude of the figure and his political weight in metropolitan France.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Réunion was definitely modernized. A university appeared and developed, as well as technical education. Television supplanted radio. The merchants abandoned their "Chinese stores" and "zarabs bazaar" to create mini markets and supermarkets. Tourism begins to develop. The road network is increasingly dense and modern, but the car park is evolving even more rapidly. Housing has been improving, and housing construction, spurred by DOM-specific tax benefits, is very active.
The economy changed in the last decades of the 20th century. Agriculture, horticulture, fruit growing and livestock are developed to meet the needs of a growing and consuming population. Sugarcane, however, maintains its position as the first agricultural production. The construction sector is doing well. But now it is the tertiary sector that drives the economy: commerce, services and, increasingly, tourism. Currently, tourism is the main activity on the island, along with construction.
In 2005 and 2006, the island was hit by an epidemic of chikungunya epidemic arthritis (a disease spread by mosquitoes) that caused more than 200 deaths. According to BBC News, some 255,000 people in Réunion had contracted the disease as of April 26, 2006. The disease also spread to Madagascar and France through airborne trade. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin sent aid of 36 million euros and military equipment to eradicate mosquitoes and help the population.
Territorial organization
Administratively, the island is divided into four arrondissements (districts), 24 communes and 47 cantons. Its capital, San Denis, is located in the extreme north of the island. It is an overseas department and also a region of France. It constitutes an outermost region of the European Union. After the Communist Rally Party between 1998 and 2010, LR has led the region since 2010.
Geography
The main island covers an area of 2,512 km² and is located over a hot spot in the earth's crust.
Python de la Fournaise, a shield volcano located on the eastern tip of Réunion Island, rises to 2,631 m a.s.l. no. m., is sometimes referred to as a twin of the Hawaiian volcanoes, due to their similarity in climate and volcanic nature. It has erupted more than 100 times since 1640 and is under constant monitoring. Its most recent eruption occurred on January 2, 2010. The Piton des Neiges volcano is the highest point on the island at 3,070 m a.s.l. no. m., and is located northwest of the Piton de la Fournaise.
The slopes of both volcanoes have abundant vegetation. Cultivated lands and settlements are concentrated in the lowlands surrounding the coast. In the ocean, part of the western coast has a system of coral reefs.
Geology and Relief
Reunion Island is a volcanic island born about three million years ago with the appearance of the Piton des Neiges volcano, which is today, at 3,070.50 m, the highest peak of the Mascarene Islands and of the Indian Ocean. The eastern part of the island is made up of the Piton de la Fournaise, a much more recent volcano (500,000 years old) that is considered one of the most active in the world. The emerged part of the island represents only a small percentage (around 3%) of the seamount that forms it.
In addition to volcanism, the relief of the island is very rugged due to active erosion. The center is home to three vast cirques excavated by erosion (Salazie, Mafate and Cilaos) and the slopes of the island are furrowed by numerous rivers that excavate ravines, estimated at at least 600, generally deep and whose torrents cut the slopes of the mountains up to several hundred meters deep.
The old Piton des Neiges massif is separated from the Fournaise massif by a gap formed by the Plaine des Palmistes and the Plaine des Cafres, a pass between the East and South of the island. Apart from the plains, the coastal areas are usually the flattest regions, especially in the north and west of the island. However, the wild south coast is more rugged.
Between the coastal strip and the Hauts, there is a steep transition zone whose slope varies considerably before reaching the ridges that mark the cirques or the Enclos, the caldera of the Piton de la Fournaise.
Climate
Reunion Island is characterized by a humid tropical climate, tempered by the oceanic influence of the trade winds that blow from east to west. Réunion's climate is characterized by its great variability, especially due to the imposing relief of the island, which is at the origin of numerous microclimates. As a result, there are strong disparities in precipitation between the windward coast in the east and the leeward coast in the west, and in temperature between the warmer coastal areas and the relatively cooler highland areas.
In Réunion there are two marked seasons, which are defined by the rainfall regime:
- a rainy season from January to March, during which most of the rainfall of the year falls;
- a dry season from May to November. However, in the eastern part and in the foothills of the volcano, rainfall can be important even in the dry season;
April and December are transition months, sometimes very rainy but also very dry.
The Pointe des Trois Bassins, located on the coast of the commune of Trois-Bassins (West), is the driest station, with a normal annual rainfall of 447.7 mm, while Le Baril, in Saint-Philippe (South-East), is the wettest coastal station, with a normal annual rainfall of 4,256.2 mm. However, the wettest season is the Sainte-Rose Highlands, with an average annual rainfall of almost 11,000 mm, which makes it one of the wettest places in the world.
The temperatures in Réunion are characterized by their great mildness throughout the year. In fact, the thermal amplitude from one season to another is relatively small (rarely exceeds 10 °C), although it is perceptible:
- In the warm season (from November to April): the average minimums usually range between 21 and 24 °C, and the maximum averages between 28 and 31 °C, on the coast. At 1,000 m, the average minimums flow between 10 and 14 °C and the maximum averages between 21 and 24 °C;
- In the cold season (May-October): temperatures at sea level vary from 17 to 20 °C for medium minimums and from 26 to 28 °C for maximum averages. At 1000 m, the average minimums range between 8 and 10 °C and the maximum mean between 17 and 21 °C18.
In mountain towns like Cilaos or La Plaine-des-Palmistes, average temperatures range from 12°C to 22°C. The highest areas of the habitat and natural areas at altitude may suffer some winter frosts. Snow was even observed at the Piton des Neiges and the Piton de la Fournaise in 2003 and 2006.
While a growing number of islands (including "non-sovereign ones") in the world are concerned about the effects of climate change, the island of Reunion was chosen (along with Gran Canaria in Spain) as an example for a case study of an affected ultra-European peripheral territory, for a study on the adequacy of urban and regional planning tools to the needs and characteristics of these islands (including land use and population density and regulatory framework). This work confirmed that urban and peri-urban land use pressures are high, and that adaptation strategies are incompletely integrated into land use planning. According to the Instituto de Estudios Insulares, there is a dysfunction: "insular planning tools often do not take adaptation to climate change into account and there is excessive top-down management in the decision-making process".
Cyclones
Reunion Island is located in the tropical cyclone formation basin of the southwestern Indian Ocean: during the cyclone season, which officially runs from November to April, the island can be hit by cyclones with winds exceeding 200 km/h and bring heavy rain. The RSMC (Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre) on Réunion Island has been authorized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) since 1993 to permanently monitor tropical cyclone activity throughout the southwestern Indian Ocean basin. The 15 member countries of the zone are thus under its responsibility.
Between January 7 and 8, 1966, Cilaos, in the center of the island, received 1,869.9 mm of rain, the most rainfall in 24 hours in recorded history.
Beaches
Reunion Island is home to numerous tropical and unique beaches. They are usually equipped with spaces for barbecues, services and parking. Hermitage Beach is the largest and best-preserved lagoon on Reunion Island and a popular snorkelling spot. It is a white-sand beach fringed with casuarinas under which locals often organize picnics. Playa des Brisants is a well-known place for surfing, with numerous sports and leisure activities. In addition, every November a film festival is organized at La Plage des Brisant's.
Movies are projected on a large screen before a crowd. Boucan Canot's beaches are surrounded by a strip of restaurants that cater especially to tourists. L'Étang-Salé, on the west coast, is a particularly unique beach, as it is covered in black sand made up of small fragments of basalt.
This occurs when lava comes into contact with water, cools rapidly, and fragments into sand and debris of various sizes. Many of the remains are small enough to be considered sand. Grand Anse is a tropical white-sand beach fringed with coconut palms in the south of Réunion, with a rock pool built for bathers, a petanque playground and a picnic area. Le Vieux Port, in Saint Philippe, is a green sand beach made up of tiny olivine crystals, formed by the 2007 lava flow, making it one of the youngest beaches on Earth.
Environment and natural heritage
Réunion Island has a diverse fauna and flora, although locally threatened by introduced species that have become invasive. Unlike French Guiana, there are no large wild mammals (jaguar or other wildlife, for example). On the other hand, many endemic species are cataloged there. Often threatened, like their habitat, by peri-urbanization, they are the subject of various conservation plans.
Net-Biome is a project coordinated by the Réunion region and supported by the European Commission to network (since 2008) public research policies in the field of restoration and sustainable management of biodiversity tropical and subtropical in the 7 outermost regions and in almost all EU overseas countries and territories. It is based, in particular, on:
- the National Park of Meeting;
- the Marine Natural Reserve of the Island of Reunion.
In 2009, a list of threatened species was drawn up as part of a mission led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the National Museum of Natural History and in collaboration with the Regional Directorate for the Environment.
With the creation of its national park, the island was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its "Pitons, circuses and walls" on Monday August 2, 2010.
Flora
The tropical and insular flora of Réunion Island is characterized by its diversity, a very high rate of endemism and a very specific structure. Réunion's flora presents a great diversity of natural environments and species (up to 40 tree species/ha, compared to a temperate forest that has an average of 5/ha). This diversity is even more remarkable, but fragile, since it differs according to the environment (coastal, low, medium and high mountain).
Réunion has a very high rate of endemic species, with more than 850 autochthonous plants (of natural origin and present before the arrival of man), of which 232 are endemic to the island of Réunion (only present in the island), as well as numerous endemic species of the Mascarene archipelago. Finally, the flora of Réunion is distinguished from that of the equatorial tropical forests by the low height and density of the canopy, probably due to adaptation to cyclones, and by a very specific vegetation, in particular a strong presence of epiphytic plants. (which grow on other plants), such as orchids, bromeliads, and cacti, but also ferns, lichens, and mosses.
Wildlife
Réunion's remarkable fauna is concentrated around birds, insects or reptiles, including many endemic species, but the island is home to no large mammals and no dangerous animals on land. The fauna with the most endemic species is that of birds, of which some species are strongly threatened, such as the Tuit-tuit, the Barau Petrel or the Papangue, and also that of insects, particularly beetles and butterflies., still quite poorly known. Some animals, not necessarily endemic, have also become symbols of the island, such as the Paille-en-queue or the Endormi. The island has relatively few mammals, and only one endemic species, the Ti Moloss, which is a micro-bat (microchiroptera).
Reunion has a great biodiversity and marine fauna, both in the reefs and lagoons as well as in the fish and inhabitants of the high seas. There are more than 1,200 species of fish in the lagoons, ravines and deep waters of Réunion Island.
The Saint-Philippe Mare-Longue nature reserve is one of the last lowland primary rain forests in the Mascarene archipelago. The island contains many endemic species, such as the tuit-tuit. The largest native land animal that inhabits it is the Furcifer pardalis, also known as the panther chameleon. Much of the western coast of the island is surrounded by a coral reef with a rich fauna.
Coral Reef
Since the island is relatively young (3 million years old), the coral formations (8,000 years old36) are still underdeveloped and occupy a reduced area compared to the older islands, mainly in the form of reefs peripherals.
These formations define "lagoons" shallow (more like "reef depressions"), the largest of which are no more than 200 m wide and about 1–2 m deep. These lagoons, which form a discontinuous reef belt 25 km long (i.e. 12% of the island's coastline) with a total area of 12 square kilometers are located on the west and south-west coast of the island. The most important are those of L'Ermitage (St.-Gilles), St.-Leu, L'Étang-Salé and St.-Pierre.
Marine biodiversity
Despite the small area of coral reefs, Réunion Island's marine biodiversity is comparable to that of other islands in the area, which has earned the Mascarene archipelago its inclusion in the top ten "hot spots" of global biodiversity. Réunion's coral reefs, both flat and barrier, are dominated mainly by fast-growing branching coral species of the genus Acropora (family Acroporidae), which provide shelter and food for many tropical species.
Recent scientific research on Réunion Island indicates that there are more than 190 species of corals, more than 1,300 species of molluscs, more than 500 species of crustaceans, more than 130 species of echinoderms, and more than 1,000 species of fish.
Réunion's deeper waters are home to dolphins, killer whales, humpback whales, blue sharks, and a wide variety of shark species, including whale sharks, coral sharks, bull sharks, tiger sharks, blacktip sharks, and sharks. White shark. Several species of sea turtles live and breed here.
Threats to the Environment
Among coastal ecosystems, coral reefs are among the richest in biodiversity, but they are also the most fragile.
Nearly a third of fish species were already considered threatened or vulnerable in 2009, with coral degradation in many places. The causes of this state of affairs are pollution, overfishing and poaching, as well as anthropogenic pressure, especially linked to the densification of urbanization in coastal areas and the discharge of wastewater.
104 species living on Réunion Island were included in the Red List published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as of September 12, 2008. This compares with 51 species in 2007.
On this list were:
Vertebrates:
- Mammals; 6 species, including:
- The black circus
- Birds; 6 species, including:
- Meller's duck,
Arboreal Lobster (Anacridium melanorhodon) on Begonia Flowers on the Island of Reunion - The Papangue,
- Barau's petrel,
- The black petrel of Bourbon,
- The tuit.
- Fish; 6 species;
Invertebrates: 58 species, including:
- Moluscos; 14 species.
- Others:
- Plants: 15 species;
- Corals: 56 species.
The insular nature of Réunion Island makes it vulnerable to climate change and implies an adaptation strategy, to which a green and blue network can contribute.
Economy
On this island, sugar cane is the main crop and cane sugar is the most exported product.
Its monetary unit has been the euro since 2002 and up to now. Previously, the French franc had been used since 1973, the year in which the French currency replaced the Réunion franc.
Reunion depends on the importation of food and energy. In addition, unemployment represents a serious problem. Its Gross Domestic Product per inhabitant is considerably lower than that of mainland France. For this reason, it benefits from the structural funds granted by the European Union to less favored economic areas.
Employment and unemployment
Reunion Island has a high unemployment rate, especially among young adults, who are the most affected. 24% is the unemployment rate established in Réunion in 2018, an increase of 2 points compared to 2016, according to Insee. In 2010 it had the highest unemployment rate in the European Union, with 28.9%.
In Réunion, 149,000 people, of whom 83,000 are unemployed (according to the definition of the International Labor Office), are unemployed and want to work. Therefore, the employment situation continues to deteriorate.
Tourism
The income from tourism is the main economic resource of the island of Réunion, ahead of the production and transformation of sugar cane, which has allowed the development of large Réunion groups such as Quartier Français, Groupe Bourbon ex-Sucreries Bourbon, a large international company that is now publicly traded, but is based off the island and has abandoned the sugar sector for off-shore shipping. With the reduction of subsidies, this culture is threatened. Therefore, the development of fishing in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands has been promoted.
The tertiary sector, particularly commercial, is by far the most developed, and import distribution took off in the mid-1980s through affiliation and franchise agreements with metropolitan groups. The arrival of franchise distribution has transformed the commercial apparatus, which historically was characterized by the geographical dispersion of small grocery store-type units; the few "Chinese shops" Those that still operate are limited to mid-range towns and, as relics of a bygone era, have more of a tourist and educational appeal, while retaining a convenience store function.
Despite a certain economic dynamism, the island is unable to absorb its significant unemployment, which is explained in particular by very strong population growth. Many Reunionians are forced to emigrate to metropolitan France for their studies or to find work.
Agriculture
Agriculture in Réunion is an important activity in the island's economy: the agricultural territory that covers 20% of the island's surface employs 10% of the active population, generates 5% of the regional gross product and provides the island's main export. Formerly focused on growing coffee and cloves, it has focused on sugar cane since the events of the turn of the century XIX, namely the Great Avalanches and the capture of Réunion by the British. Today it is facing important questions related to the decisions of the World Trade Organization on an international scale and the development of urban development on a local scale.
Reunion Island has some 7,000 farms, 5,000 of which are professional. These farms mobilize almost 11,000 UTA (annual workload of a full-time person).
97% of Réunion farms are less than 20 hectares, compared to an average of 78 hectares in mainland France.
The most common status is individual farmer (97%).
In 2005, more than 60% of farm managers were between 40 and 59 years old.
Government and Politics
Status
Réunion is an overseas department and region, governed by Article 73 of the Constitution of France, under which laws and regulations are fully applicable, just as in metropolitan France.
Thus, Réunion has a regional council and a departmental council. These territorial entities have the same general powers as the departments and regions of metropolitan France, albeit with some adaptations. Article 73 of the Constitution provides for the possibility of replacing the region and department with a single territorial entity, but unlike French Guiana or Martinique, there is currently no provision for doing so.
Unlike the other DROMs, the Constitution explicitly excludes Réunion from the possibility of receiving authorization from Parliament to set certain standards for itself, either by law or by the national executive.
The State is represented at the Réunion by a prefect. The territory is divided into four districts (Saint-Benoît, Saint-Denis, Saint-Paul, Saint-Pierre).
Reunión has 24 municipalities organized into 5 agglomeration communities.
From the point of view of the European Union, Réunion is an outermost region.
Geopolitics
The positioning of Réunion Island has given it a more or less important strategic role depending on the time.
Already at the time of the India Route, Reunion Island was a French position situated between Cape Town and the Indian trading posts, albeit far from the Mozambique Channel. The island of Bourbon (its name under the Old Regime) was not, however, the preferred location for trade and the army. In fact, Governor Labourdonnais stated that Ile-de-France (Mauritius) was a land of opportunity, thanks to its topography and the presence of two natural harbours. He believes that Bourbon was intended to be a warehouse or emergency base for the Ile-de-France The opening of the Suez Canal diverts much of the shipping traffic from the southern Indian Ocean and reduces the island's strategic importance. This decline is confirmed by the importance given to Madagascar, which will later be colonized.
Since the 2000s, a geopolitical subgroup tends to emerge under the name of the Southwestern Indian Ocean.
Currently, the island, home to a defense and security zone, houses the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Southern Zone of the Indian Ocean (FAZSOI), which brings together the units of the French Army stationed in Réunion and Mayotte.
Reunion Island allows France to be a member of the Indian Ocean Commission.
Reunion Island is also a base that houses Frenchelon's infrastructure and the mobile automatic listening and search unit.
Lastly, Saint-Pierre is the headquarters of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Taaf).
Transportation and Communications
The mountainous topography, urban development and concentration of human activities on the coast make the road network a constant concern for the economic development of the island. At the initiative of the regional council and with the help of the State and the European Union, in 2003 a large-scale project was launched for an estimated amount of more than one billion euros: the Tamarins road, a transversal motorway linking the north with the south at mid-height, in order to make the northwest link to the main city safer and less congested.
Roads
In 2013, Réunion had more than 3,000 kilometers of roads. In 2004, Réunion Island had almost 300,000 private vehicles, that is, approximately one car for every two inhabitants. Despite the large number of vehicles on the island, household equipment is still considerably inferior to that of mainland France. It is estimated that by 2020 Réunion's car park could reach some 500,000 vehicles, for a level of domestic equipment close to that of mainland France in 1999.
The Tamarindos road, opened in 2009, allows you to travel much faster, especially thanks to a wider road, from Étang-Salé to approximately Saint-Paul. A new coastal road is currently being built between La Possession and Saint-Denis. Since the opening of the Tamarindos road to the public in 2009, the old coastal road, called the beach road, is hardly used anymore, as it is usually under construction; despite the fact that it offers impressive landscapes on the coast of the island of Réunion.
Public transport
The island has an intercity bus service known as Car jaune.
Ports
The main port of the island is the port of the Pointe des Galets, in Le Port, in the northwest of the island; it is the only port in France that combines the five functions of ferry terminal, commercial port, marina, fishing port and naval base (third French naval base after Toulon and Brest). It is managed by the Réunion Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Airports
Reunion Island has two international airports:
Saint Denis-Roland Garros Airport, the largest, is located in Sainte-Marie, near Saint-Denis, in the north of the island; with direct links to the cities of metropolitan France, Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Nantes, Bordeaux, but also to international destinations such as Mauritius, Antananarivo, Nosy Be, Johannesburg, Bangkok, among others.
Saint-Pierre-Pierrefonds airport in the south currently has only limited capacity as a link to the main airport and as a terminal for island flights to Mauritius, and Paris with a stopover at Roland-Garros airport of Réunion and Madagascar.
Air transport also uses helicopters and ultralights to reach places inaccessible by road and discover the hidden treasures of the island of Reunion, such as the Trou de Fer, the peaks seen from the sky and the circuses of Mafate, Salazie and Cilaos.
Demographics
Réunion has about 800,000 inhabitants.
Among the ethnic groups present on Reunion Island, there are inhabitants of European, African, Malagasy, Indian (Hindu) and Chinese origin, as well as people of mixed ancestry. At the local level, names for mestizo groups are often used: yabs, cafrs, malbares and zarabes (the latter of Indian and Chinese origin, respectively).
It is unknown exactly how many people there are of each ethnic group, because ethnic censuses have been prohibited in France, and by extension in Réunion, since the application of the French Constitution of 1958. According to estimates, the inhabitants of European origin (zoreilles) make up about 25% of the population, people of Indian origin about 25% and people of Chinese origin about 3%. The inhabitants of mixed origin and those of African and Malagasy ethnicities vary according to estimates. There is also a small minority of Vietnamese origin on the island. In the past, the island's white population was differentiated into Gros Blancs (those who own land) and Petit Blancs (common people).
Approximately 214,989 people or 25% of the population of Réunion Island are of European descent. The vast majority of them are of French descent (coming from metropolitan France), although there are also people of Dutch, British, Belgian and Portuguese descent. People of Tamil and Gujarati origin make up the bulk of Réunion's Indian inhabitants; the Bihari and other groups make up the remainder. The Muslim community of Réunion is largely from northwestern India and is commonly called the Zarab. Réunion Creoles (a name given to those born on the island, regardless of ethnicity) make up the majority of the population. Non-Creole groups also include people from mainland France (known as Zoreils) and those from Mayotte and the Comoro Islands.
Reunion Island is very similar to Mauritius and the Seychelles in terms of culture, ethnic components, and traditions. In Réunion the same ethnic groups are found as in Mauritius, although the demographic proportion differs, with the notable difference that in the two aforementioned islands English is the official language while in Réunion that status is held by French.
Religion
The predominant religion on the island of Réunion is Christianity, with Catholicism being the dominant denomination as in France, followed by Hinduism (with the Murugan cult). Islam and Buddhism are also represented. Religious freedom exists in Réunion. As all religious censuses are prohibited in France, this also applies on the island, and all religious statistics are estimates. Religious Intelligence estimates that Réunion's Christians make up 84.9% of the population, followed by Hindus at 6.7% and Muslims at 2.15%. In most large cities there is usually a mosque for worship. practice of Muslim communities.
Languages
The official language of administration, education and the written and spoken press is French, but approximately 90% of the population of Réunion speak Réunion Creole. As its name indicates, it is a Creole, that is, a language born from the linguistic encounter between a dominant language (in this case, French) and the vernacular languages spoken by the local population. Réunion Creole is different from West Indian Creoles, although it has followed a partially parallel historical development.
Most Reunionians are bilingual in French/Creole, but a portion of the population only speaks Reunion Creole.
According to author Annegret Bollée, it is assumed that "Réunion Creole developed gradually in the plantation society formed after the introduction of coffee cultivation in Bourbon (starting around 1720)".
In the last two centuries there has been a gradual decolonization, that is, the decline of Creole in favor of the expansion of French in society. As with France's other minority languages, this decline in Creole is the result, in particular, of compulsory schooling in French, as well as the dominant presence of French in the media. However, for about 20 years Reunion Creole has been more widely recognized: since 2001 it has been taught in secondary schools as part of the "Regional Language and Culture" option.
Tamil is also taught as an optional language in some schools. Due to the diversity of its population, other languages are spoken on the island. Mandarin, Hakka and Cantonese are spoken in the small Chinese community, but most of the younger generations use French regularly. The number of speakers of Indian languages such as Urdu and Gujarati is also declining in the younger generations. The Arabic language is taught in the mosques and is spoken by a small immigrant community. Other minority languages include Malagasy and Comorian.
Education
Reunion Island has its own educational institution. Chantal Manès-Bonnisseau, Inspector General for Education, Sports and Research, was appointed rector of the Réunion Academy and chancellor of universities, in the Council of Ministers, on July 29, 2020.
He succeeds Vêlayoudom Marimoutou, who took over as secretary general of the Indian Ocean Commission on July 16.
The rectory is located in the main city, in the Moufia neighborhood of Saint-Denis. At the beginning of the 2012 school year, the island had 522 early childhood and/or primary education centers, including 26 private centers, for 120,230 students at the primary level, 82 secondary education centers, including six private centers, for 61,300 students, 32 general and technological institutes, including three private centers, for 23,650 students; and 15 vocational training institutes, including two private centers, for 16,200 students.
Réunion's priority education zones affect just over half of primary and secondary school students.
The results of the baccalaureate are relatively close to the national average with a rate of 81.4% in 2012 compared to 82.4% in 2011 (respectively: 84.5% and 85.6% in the national average).
In higher education, the University of Réunion has 11,600 students spread over the various campuses, especially Saint-Denis and Le Tampon. Another 5,800 students are divided between the post-baccalaureate courses of secondary education and other higher studies.
Health
The two main facilities of the Réunion University Hospital are located in Saint-Denis and at the Saint-Pierre site. There is a private facility in Saint-Denis, the Sainte-Clotilde clinic. These facilities handle most pathologies and operations in many departments. Only some ultra-specialized procedures require a performance on the continent. There are dispensaries in other smaller towns (La Plaine-des-Palmistes, Cilaos...). In remote areas and places, rural doctors travel by car for consultations, or even on foot to the Mafate circus, which has no roads.
At the same time, there are many general practitioners all over the island, with specialists concentrated in the big cities. There is an important emergency service, both for the population and for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who annually visit the remote hiking trails.
Housing
As of January 1, 2008, Réunion had 305,300 dwellings. 91% of the Réunion housing stock is made up of main dwellings (owners and tenants). And 7% of the housing stock is unoccupied (mainly in the municipalities of Le Tampon, La Possession and Sainte-Clotilde), the rest is made up of second homes (in the west and south of the island).
Reunion's housing stock is evolving five times faster than that of mainland France. Traditional housing now represents only 17% of the total housing stock. In 1999, it was double. The majority of primary residences on the island are single-family homes (58%). However, since the tax exemption laws (1981), the number of apartments has tripled in 25 years. Réunion's housing stock is increasing. However, the houses of the Réunionians are more cramped than those of metropolitan France. However, housing without comfort is in constant decline. However, there is still work to be done in this area, since although there is half that in 1999, in 2008 there were 42,000 homes without hot water.
Energy
Energy on Réunion Island is dependent on oil and is limited by the island's insularity, which forces it to produce electricity locally and import fossil fuels. Faced with increasing demand and environmental requirements, the energy produced on the island tends to increasingly exploit its great potential for renewable energy through the development of wind farms, solar farms and other experimental projects. Although in 2013 35% of Réunion's electricity came from renewable sources, the department's energy dependency rate exceeds 85%. Saving electricity and optimizing energy efficiency are two major areas of work for the authorities responsible for energy matters.
Hydroelectric Power
Due to the large volumes of rainfall, the flow of surface water allows the installation of hydroelectric infrastructures, especially since erosion has excavated narrow and very deep ravines. The Sainte-Rose plant (22 MW) and the Takamaka plant (17.5 MW) are the two most important. In total, the six hydroelectric infrastructures on the island have a capacity of 133 MW.
Culture
Architecture
Structurally, the local Creole house is said to be symmetrical. In fact, in the absence of an architect, workers would draw a line on the ground and build two identical parts on each side, resulting in place to houses essentially rectangular in shape. The veranda is an important element of the house. It is an outdoor terrace built in front of the house, as it allowed to show its wealth to the street. A Creole garden completes the house. It is made up of local plants, found in the forest. There is usually a greenhouse with orchids, anthuriums and different types of ferns.
The Villa Déramond-Barre is a Creole architectural model of great heritage interest.
Gastronomy
Always accompanied by rice, the most common dishes are curry, a local version of Indian curry, rougail and civets. The curry is made with a base of onion, garlic and spices such as turmeric (called "safran péi" on the island), on which fish, meat and eggs are fried; then the tomato is added. Dishes can also be flavored with ginger; the shell of a combava is usually highly prized. Chop suey (with rice, not pasta) and other Asian dishes such as pineapple pork are also very common.
In general, there are few dishes without meat or fish, so there are few vegetarian options. One of them is the chayote gratin chouchou. Otherwise, mainly poultry is consumed. One of the local specialties is civeta de tangue (from the hedgehog family).
Music and dance
Every December 20, the inhabitants of Réunion Island celebrate Réunion Freedom Day. This celebration, also known as the Fête des Cafres or "Fet' Caf'", commemorates the proclamation of the abolition of slavery by the Second Republic (France) in 1848. The term "cafre" refers to the Africans of the "Cafrerie" (a part of southern Africa). Derived from the Afrikaans word "kaffer", which is similar to the American slang "nigger" or "nègre", originating in colonial France.
Today, in the 21st century, Reunionans joyfully celebrate the end of a long period of oppression. Kaffirs, Malagasy, Comorians, Indians, yabs z'oreilles and metropolitans meet in the streets dancing to the rhythm of the sega and the maloya, the two great musical genres of Réunion. Numerous concerts are organized, most of them free, as well as costume parades and dance shows like the merengue, for example.
Traditions
Two forms of musical expression historically make up the folkloric tradition of Reunion Island. One is, the sega, it is a Creole variant of the cuadrilla, the other, the maloya, like the blues of the United States, comes from Africa, carried away by the nostalgia and pain of the uprooted and deported slaves from their homeland.
The sega, a costumed ballroom dance to the rhythm of traditional Western instruments (accordion, harmonica, guitar, etc.), is a testament to the fun of the colonial society of the time. Today, it is still the typical ballroom dance of the island of Réunion and of the Mascarene archipelago in general, along with the Mauritian sega and the Rodriguesa sega.
The slaves' maloya, a ritual dance full of melodies and gestures, was performed almost clandestinely at night around a bonfire; the few instruments that accompanied it were made of plants (bamboos, gourds, etc.).
Beyond their taste for this form of musical art, the maloya companies want to perpetuate the memory of the slaves, their suffering and their uprooting. Through sometimes controversial texts, they remind France of its slave-owning past and underline the damage that this colonial era did to human beings; Over the course of the island's history, maloya artists and kabars (meetings) were sometimes banned by the authorities.
With the institution of a holiday to celebrate the abolition of slavery (fête caf', December 20), the maloya has received official recognition; it is heard regularly on public radio and many discos and dance parties program it systematically; it's even enjoying a resurgence: bands have begun crafting modern covers, styles, and arrangements, such as maloggae and other electric maloyas.
Among the emblematic musical groups of Reunion Island are: Groupe folklorique de La Réunion, Kalou Pilé, Baster, Ousanousava, Ziskakan, Pat'Jaune, Danyèl Waro, Tisours, etc. We can also mention one of the greatest maloya singers: Lo Rwa Kaf. Born in Sainte-Suzanne, he was one of the first to sing maloya. When he died in 2004, many people were present at his funeral.
In 2008, artist Brice Guilbert made a video clip entitled La Reunion. In this clip, we see him go through all the landscapes of the island.
In the field of contemporary dance, we can mention the choreographer Pascal Montrouge, who directs the only company in France that has a double headquarters in Saint-Denis de la Réunion and in Hyères, which reinforces the sense of his vision of the identity. In 2007, the city of Saint-Denis de La Réunion entrusted him with the artistic direction of its Saint-Denis Danses festival.
The island is home to the Réunion regional conservatory, which has four educational poles and was created in 1987 under the impulse of the then president of the region, Pierre Lagourgue. Today, although traditional dances are not forgotten in conservatories (which teach dance, music and theater), the dances that are taught are classical dance, contemporary dance and Bharata natyam dance. These students regularly have the opportunity to dance with Reunion choreographers such as Didier Boutiana cie "konpani Soul city "98 Soraya Thomas cie "Morphose "99o Éric Languet cie "danse en l'R'100. These different local companies allow the inhabitants of Réunion to dance professionally.
Urban culture has also made an appearance, following the trends and influence of metropolitan France and the United States. Thus, hip-hop culture developed, but also ragga dancehall, with KM David or Kaf Malbar being the figurehead of this new movement, influencing the young generation throughout the island, with their songs broadcast by mp3 or internet. Many young artists try to "break through" in this music, whose industry is developing reasonably, locally, but also internationally, without having anything to envy to the precursors of French dancehall.
Media
Four media make up the regional daily press: the Journal de l'île, Le Quotidien de La Réunion, Visu and Témoignages, the edition of the Communist Party of Réunion. Most of the periodical press is made up of weeklies specialized in television programs and some periodicals devoted to the life of commercial and industrial companies.
PAR, or paysage audiovisuel réunionnais (audiovisual landscape of Réunion), monopolized for a long time by the ORTF, which was followed by the public channels FR3 in 1975, and then RFO in 1982, is today represented by three television channels terrestrial: Réunion La 1re (public channel), Antenne Réunion and Télé Kréol. In addition, Parabole Réunion and Canal+ Réunion offer two satellite packages.
The radio scene has also undergone a great transformation after the liberation of the airwaves desired by the socialist president François Mitterrand since his election in 1981; the island has more than 45 private radio stations, some of which broadcast throughout the island and win over their audience through interactivity.
In fact, Radio Freedom is a radio based on its listeners. It has a system that consists of the live intervention of its listeners, from 5 to 12 in the morning (more in case of events, cyclones...), in addition to the news. In 1991, when Télé Freedom (created by the same person as Radio Freedom, Camille Sudre) was suppressed on appeal by the CSA to the prefect (Télé Freedom broadcast clandestinely), riots broke out because it was, at that time, the only means of communication and of free expression on the island that aired a certain type of more liberal programming.
Since November 2010, digital terrestrial television has made it possible to receive, in addition to local channels, the channels of France Télévisions, Arte and France 24.
Internet
The Internet situation on the island of Réunion was marked in its day by its insularity and its remoteness from mainland France, which caused certain technological delays. Today, the trend has been reversed and The region has a relatively efficient Internet connection and is one of the most fiber-optic-connected departments in France.
The Internet connection can be made both by ADSL (offered by four operators) and by fiber optics (three operators), or by cellular data on the 4G and 5G networks (currently being tested in Saint-Denis).
Reunion domain names have the suffix.re. The Réunion region has deployed a regional fiber optic network for operators. This network is partly based on very high voltage cables from EDF - G@zelle network, partly on the region's own fiber and partly on hertzian links for the most isolated areas. This network is managed by a public service company called La Réunion Numérique.
Literature
It first developed through local folktales and poetry, which flourished from the mid-18th century, before turning to the novel from the mid-XIX century and the 1844 publication of Louis Timagène Houat's Marrons. Since the departmentalization of the island of Réunion, it is in full revival and is expressed in both French and Réunion Creole.
Cinema
Present on the island since 1896, it is marked by its insularity and its geographical distance from metropolitan France. In the absence of the Center national de la cinématographie (CNC), it has developed specific distribution and dissemination networks. Its landscapes first served as a natural setting for many film and television productions, and film events, such as festivals, multiplied there. Digital technology now facilitates the development of local productions, which mostly reflect the particularities of a multicultural and multilingual society.
The Réunion Film Festival (estival du film de La Réunion,) was created in 2005 and is chaired by Fabienne Redt. The festival presented first and second feature films by French directors. The 10th and last edition took place in 2014 in collaboration mainly with the TEAT Champ Fleuri (Saint-Denis) and the city of Saint-Paul.
In the Port, the International Film Festival of Africa and the Reunion Islands (Festival international du film d'Afrique et des îles de La Réunion) was also held.
Among the existing film festivals, there is the Reunion Island Adventure Film Festival (13 editions), which consists of rewarding adventure films.
Saint-Philippe has been hosting the Festival Même pas peur, the Réunion international fantastic film festival, since 2010.
There are two festivals in Saint-Pierre: Écran jeunes (25th edition in 2019) and the Festival du Film Court de Saint-Pierre, directed by Armand Dauphin (3rd edition in 2019).
Personalities
- Flora Pasquet: singer in Nuvoyá.
- François-Gédéon Bailly de Monthyon: General and Chief of the Great Armée of Napoleon Bonaparte.
- Raymond Barre: Professor of Political Economy and Prime Minister of France (1976-1981). He was also mayor of Lyon (1995-2001).
- Joseph Bédier: Medievalist, author of the modern and updated version of the "Romance of Tristan and Isolda".
- Valérie Bègue: Miss France 2008.
- Antoine Bertin: poet.
- Leon Dierx: poet.
- Juliette Dodu: hero of war received by the Legion of Honor and the military medal for his acts of courage as a telegraphist in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870.
- Camille Falte (1852-1923): half sister of Juliette Dodu and wife of the painter Odilon Redon.
- Jean d'Esme: journalist, novelist, and film director. He ran the French law on intellectual property and social coverage for writers.
- Sébastien Folin, TV and radio animator.
- You were from Parny: poet.
- Roland Garros: aviator.
- Mémona Hintermann: journalist and reporter of the channel "France".
- Michel Houellebecq: novelist.
Roland Garros in 1910. - Marius and Ary Leblond: pseudonyms of George Athénas and d'Aimé Merlo, two art critics and diplomats of the Sorbonne, who wrote together and won the Goncourt award in 1909.
- Auguste Lacaussade: poet.
- Faf Larage: singer.
- Leconte de Lisle: poet.
- Paul Véronge de la Nux: composer of classical music.
- Daniel Narcisse: player of the THW Kiel and the French basketball team.
- Noémie Lenoir: model.
- Gérald De Palmas: singer.
- Manu Payet: comic and humorist.
- Marie Payet: Miss France Universe 2012
- Blance Pierson: funny.
- Laurence Roustandjee: M6 channel meteorologist.
- Ambroise Vollard: collector and patrons of impressionist and fauvist painters.
- Jackson Richardson: former player of the French basketball team.
- Guillaume Hoarau: footballer.
- Pauline Hoarau: model
- Elsa Manelphe: gourmet chef, cook based in Uruguay.
- Mathieu Cotte: poet, humorist
- Dimitri Payet: footballer
- Florent Sinama-Pongolle: footballer
- Johanne Defay: Surfist
Sports
Thanks to its favorable climatic conditions and its many infrastructures, Réunion Island allows the practice of various sports. Water and mountain activities are very present on the island. There are some 150,000 licensed professionals for more than sixty disciplines, not counting those who are not licensed.
There are many outdoor activities on the island that enjoys a mild climate and sea and mountains.
Football
It is the most popular sport. With more than 30,000 licensed players for a population of around 750,000, it remains the sport of choice for young people. Despite the fact that the highest level of the competition called the Réunion Primera División is equivalent to a division of honor in metropolitan France (DH), all the youngsters have the hope of one day playing at the highest level. This has been the case with players like Laurent Robert, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Guillaume Hoarau, Dimitri Payet, Benoit Tremoulinas (the only five Reunionians to have played for the French team), Bertrand Robert, Thomas Fontaine, Ludovic Ajorque, Fabrice Abriel (of Reunionan descent) and Wilfried Moimbe (of Reunionan descent), to name just a few. The territory has its own team, the Reunion soccer team
Tennis
Tennis is one of the most popular sports on Reunion Island. It came to the territory at the end of the XIX century (already in 1892), but for a long time it was reserved for a privileged few and only really developed from the 1960s, especially when a Réunion Lawn Tennis League (LRLT) was created in 1963. Since then, Nine presidents have succeeded at the helm of the LRLT, which became the LRT (Ligue réunionnaise de tennis) in April 1984, and then the Ligue Réunion-Mayotte de tennis in 2020.
Symbols
Reunion Island has no official coat of arms or flag.
Former Governor Merwart created a coat of arms for the island for the 1925 colonial exposition held on Petite-Île. Merwart, a member of the Reunion Island Society of Arts and Sciences, wanted to include the history of the island:
- The Roman number "MMM" evokes the altitude of the highest peaks;
- the ship Saint-Alexis is the one who first took possession of the island;
- lis flowers evoke the real time;
- bees evoke the Empire;
- the central shield evokes the French republican flag;
- The motto "Florebo quocumque ferar" is that of the French Company of the East Indies and means "I will grow there where they take me", while the vines of vanilla honor a flourishing harvest.
The most widely used flag in Réunion is the "radiant volcano" flag, designed by Guy Pignolet in 1975, sometimes called "Lo Mavéli ": it represents the Piton volcano de la Fournaise in the shape of a simplified red triangle on a navy blue background, while five sunbeams symbolize the arrival of the populations that have converged on the island over the centuries.