FORT-DE-FRANCE (Reuters) - Voters in the French Caribbean territories of Martinique and Guyana rejected the option of greater autonomy in a referendum at the weekend, authorities said.  The referendum offered the chance to vote for giving local lawmakers more scope to initiate legislation of their own. read more...

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) -- Barbadians will no longer need a visa to travel to the French overseas islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe (including Marie Galante, La Desirade and Les Saintes), French Guiana and Reunion. The visa requirement has also been removed for travel to the French overseas collectivities. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA -- Martinique, the French Caribbean island that famously inspired several of Paul Gauguin's most celebrated works, will again take center stage of the Caribbean art world when it hosts the seventh annual Contemporary Art Market of Le Marin, November 27-29, 2009. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA -- Martinique continues to expand and enhance its tourism product for 2010, welcoming two new boutique “hotels de charme,” as well as a new hotel renovation and enhancements to an ecotourism attraction to entice visitors like never before. New Hotel de Charme – La Suite Villa... read more...

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NEW YORK, USA -- Melodious musique de jazz will fill the air once more this fall as the Caribbean`s longest running jazz festival, the Martinique Jazz Festival, will be held November 26 to December 6. The festival, which dates back to 1983, has long provided a showcase for local and international artists. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA -- Martinique’s status as the “Culinary Capital of the Caribbean” was confirmed recently in a Caribbean Travel + Life Magazine survey asking readers to name their favorite Caribbean destination for delectable dining. Martinique garnered 43.3% of the 807 votes cast over the one-month survey period. read more...

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CASTRIES, St Lucia -- During the celebration of Emancipation week in St Lucia, ethnobotanist, Laurent Jean Pierre, delivered a series of lectures in the Castries community and in the agricultural community of Choiseul. The lectures were based on the theme, "Jardin Creole - Its relevance, pre and post-emancipation." read more...

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BROOKLYN, New York -- Gay Caribbean Pride takes center stage in Brooklyn on Saturday, 19th September. That is when the 2009 Gay Caribbean/USA Pageant will be staged. Five male contestants representing Jamaica, St Lucia, Barbados, Martinique and Guyana will battle for the crown. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA -- Martinique continues to gain in popularity as a prime Caribbean cruise destination as evidenced by the 20 percent increase in cruise passenger arrivals projected by the Martinique Promotion Bureau/CMT USA for the upcoming 2009-2010 peak winter season. Muriel Wiltord, director Americas... read more...

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- The Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) has reported the successful commencement of a series of charter flights to Barbados from Martinique during the months of July and August 2009. The service utilises a 70-seater Air Caraibes aircraft and is being promoted in conjunction... read more...

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NEW YORK, USA -- Carnival is to the Caribbean as fish are to the sea – one simply cannot exist without the other. In Martinique, the analogy is taken one step further when carnival and sea are brought together for a celebration unlike any other, the famed Yawl Boat Race (Tour des Yoles Rondes). read more...

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FORT DE FRANCE, Martinique (AFP) -- President Nicolas Sarkozy offered Friday to hold a referendum on autonomy for the island of Martinique, one of France's Caribbean territories gripped by unrest early this year. The French leader on Thursday began a visit to Martinique and neighbouring Guadeloupe. read more...

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FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AFP) -- French president Nicolas Sarkozy affirmed on Thursday that the “status quo was not possible”, on his arrival in Martinique, before going on Friday to Guadeloupe, four months after the violent strikes that shook the two Caribbean islands. “I am persuaded that the status quo... read more...

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FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (BGIS) -- Significant progress has been made towards the establishment of a Caribbean Tsunami Warning Centre and a Caribbean Tsunami Information Centre. This was announced at the conclusion of the Fourth Session of the Inter-governmental Coordination Group read more...

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VIEUX FORT, St Lucia -- Jamaican athletes won 12 gold medals, including all four sprint relay titles on another dominating third day at the 38th Carifta Games at the George Odlum Stadium in St Lucia on Sunday. Six records were broken, with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago athletes accounting for them. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA: Martinique has become more accessible to US travelers thanks to newly expanded service from American Eagle Airlines. Beginning May 1, 2009, American Eagle will offer daily service between its hub in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. read more...

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GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands: The Net News Group (NNG), a widely-read media publishing and communications company based in the Cayman Islands, has established a contributor partnership with McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), one of the largest media groups in the United States. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA: Madeleine de Grandmaison, chairwoman of the Martinique Tourism Authority, issued a statement on Friday celebrating the resolution of a general strike in effect on the island over the past few weeks: “It gives me great pleasure to confirm the official end to the general strike in Martinique." read more...

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FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AFP): The top official on the French island of Martinique has appealed for calm following violent confrontations with demonstrators in which shots were fired at police. Violence first broke out on Friday in Fort-de-France on the margin of a demonstration by farmers. read more...

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POINTE-A-PITRE, Guadeloupe (AFP): Businesses began to reopen on Thursday in Guadeloupe after a general strike that had paralysed the French Caribbean island for 44 days ended with a promise of pay rises. President Nicolas Sarkozy's government still faces a strike on neighbouring Martinique. read more...

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PARIS, France (Reuters): French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Thursday security forces would maintain order on the Caribbean island of Martinique after youths clashed with police overnight in a protest over economic conditions. The unrest on Martinique has spread from the neighbouring island of Guadeloupe. read more...

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FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AFP): Protesters set fire to garbage bins and rammed vehicles into hypermarkets on Wednesday in a second night of violence on the strike-stricken French Caribbean island of Martinique. Protesters blocked several streets of the island's capital Fort-de-France with trash bins. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA: Madeleine de Grandmaison, chairwoman of the Martinique Tourism Authority, issued a statement on Friday regarding the current state of the tourism industry in Martinique relative to the ongoing general strike on the island. The Martinique Promotion Bureau said it will continue to monitor the situation. read more...

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PARIS, France (Reuters): President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged new state spending on Wednesday for those hit by the economic crisis as violence in the French island of Guadeloupe put pressure on him to avert unrest on the mainland. A union representative was shot dead by protesters. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA: The Martinique Promotion Bureau/CMT USA, the official government tourism agency for the island of Martinique, reports that key segments of the island’s tourism infrastructure continue to operate normally despite an ongoing labour strike. Among the facts known to date are the following: read more...

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POINTE-A-PITRE, Guadeloupe (AFP): A general strike crippling Guadeloupe and Martinique has exposed racial and class divides on the French Caribbean islands where a white elite wields power over a majority descended from African slaves. Protesters on Monday stepped up their nearly month-long strike action. read more...

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POINTE-A-PITRE, Guadeloupe (AFP): Guadeloupe's main airport was shut down on Tuesday after a night of looting and bonfires on the French Caribbean island, which has been crippled by a four-week general strike. Authorities in Pointe a Pitre cited security concerns for closing the airport. read more...

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PARIS, France (Reuters): French President Nicholas Sarkozy will try this week to defuse protests against his economic plans but talks with unions will be tough with unemployment rising, growth tumbling and Caribbean unrest threatening to spread. Unions and associations began the protest in Guadeloupe. read more...

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PARIS, France (Reuters): Protesters paralysing the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe over demands for pay rises vowed to continue their strike on Friday despite efforts by the government to defuse the crisis, now in its fourth week. Last week, the protest spread to another French Caribbean island, Martinique. read more...

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FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AFP): The LKP (the so-called “Collective Against Outrageous Exploitation”, joining together trade unions, parties and associations) abruptly broke off negotiations in Guadeloupe on Thursday, after 23 days of general strike, while in Martinique the strike is in its second week. read more...

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FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AFP): Two squadrons of anti-riot police will be sent as reinforcements to Martinique where a general strike was in its seventh day on Wednesday, while French Secretary of State Yves Jégo returned to Guadeloupe, which has also been paralysed by a general strike for 22 days. read more...

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POINTE-A-PITRE, Guadeloupe (AFP): Thousands of people demonstrated on Monday in Guadeloupe, denouncing the return to Paris of the Secretary of State to the Overseas Territories, Yves Jégo, at a time of crisis. Protest marches also paralysed Fort-de-France in Martinique. A meeting of ministers is planned for Tuesday. read more...

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PARIS, France (AFP): Francois Bayrou, president of the Democratic Movement party (MODEM), said on Sunday he was “ashamed” that French president Nicolas Sarkozy did not speak about the situation in Guadeloupe and Martinique during a radio and television interview last week. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA: The French Caribbean island of Martinique has commemorated Barack Obama’s historic ascension to the presidency of the United States by naming a street in his honour. The newly dubbed Rue Obama extends from the heart of the picturesque city of Le Diamant to the sea. read more...

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ROSEAU, Dominica: The WaterAid Odyssey continues as Graham Hughes pushes forward in his journey through the Caribbean on his round-the-world Odyssey, trying to make up for lost time after encountering unexpected travel delays in the islands. Hughes is attempting to break a world record. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM): Eastern Caribbean leaders want an efficient transportation system to sustain tourism and to food security. OECS Secretariat is to explore with the Regional Councils of Martinique and Guadeloupe opportunities for expanding the fast ferry service. read more...

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PARIS, France (AFP): Coralie Balmy may only be making ripples on the world swimming scene, but come London 2012 she will be looking to blow her freestyle rivals, including French teammate Laure Manaudou, out of the water. Balmy, is a 21-year-old Frenchwoman who hails from the Caribbean island of Martinique. read more...

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MONTREAL, Canada: Air Canada on Thursday announced the re-introduction of the only non-stop scheduled service between Montréal and Fort-de-France, Martinique. The weekly service will be initially offered on Saturdays during the summer between July 4, 2009 and August 29, 2009. read more...

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BRADES, Montserrat: The Montserrat Tourist Board (MTB) announced that Market One has been appointed as its tourism marketing representative for Guadeloupe and Martinique. According to the MTB, Appointing the marketing and public relations company is intended to capitalize on Montserrat's close proximity. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA: Martinique's leadership position as the top Caribbean destination for culinary travel has been reaffirmed by Caribbean World Magazine, which recently named the island "Best Gourmet Island of the Year 2008." The award was presented during the 14th Caribbean World Annual Awards. read more...

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