In the 1640s, Réunion was occupied by the French, displacing the Portuguese, who in 1513 had been the first European arrivals on the island. The island became prosperous during the 18th century, along with nearby Mauritius, when it lay on the shipping routes which carried trade between Europe and Asia. Sugar plantations, worked by slaves imported from Africa, formed the other main economic sector. Réunion was ruled as a colony until 1946 when it was granted the status of an Overseas Department of France, under which it is an integral part of the French State, which is represented
on the island by a Commissioner. Politics in recent years have been primarily concerned with internal autonomy: most people appear to favor an increase beyond the present level but very few support a complete severing of the link with France, particularly as the island is largely dependent economically on aid from the French government.
Political parties on the island include adjuncts of the main French parties – the Gaullist
Rassemblement pour la République (RPR); the center-right
Union pour la Démocratie Française (UDF) and the
Parti Socialiste (PS) – plus the
Parti Communiste Réunionnais (PCR); and two relatively new outfits. One of these, the right-wing
France-Réunion-Avenir (FRA – literally France-Réunion-Future) has made little headway; the other, the
FreeDOM [sic] party, was a political phenomenon of the early 1990s which evolved from a pirate television station. After the pirate broadcasters’ leader, Camille Sudre, was banned from political activity and his wife Marguerite became president of the Council. The party has since become a permanent feature of the political landscape.
The most recent elections to the Regional Council and the General Council, held in 1998 and 2000 respectively, were won by a right-wing coalition and the left-wing alliance of Communists and Socialists.
GovernmentReunion is an Overseas Department of France. As such it is an integral part of the French nation and its citizens are able to vote in French national elections. It also enjoys a measure of autonomy in its legislature which comprises the 49-member General Council and the 45-member Regional Council. Both of these bodies are directly elected to serve six year terms.
EconomySugar cane is the principal crop and export earner in this mainly agricultural economy. Other crops include vanilla, tobacco, and plants such as
vétiver and
ylang-ylang, used in tropical essences. Sugar and rum production are the principal industries; others include the manufacture of construction materials, metal goods, textiles and electronics.
The service sector, including transport, telecommunications, finance and tourism, provides three-quarters of the country’s economic output. Tourism has grown particularly rapidly in recent years, and is now worth about US$300 million annually to the island’s economy.
However, the Réunion economy is far from self-sustaining and relies on large injections of aid from France and, more recently, the European Union, to cover its trade and budgetary deficits (as an integral part of France, Réunion belongs to the EU). The most pressing problem for the government is a very high level of unemployment, which has been around 35 to 40% for the last decade.
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