Wallis and Futuna

Territoire des îles Wallis et Futuna
Territory of the islands of Wallis and Futuna
flag coat of arms
Motto : Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité French for: "Freedom, equality, brotherhood"
Official language	French
Capital	Mata-utu
Form of government	French overseas territory
Head of state	President Emmanuel Macron , represented by Administrateur Supérieur Jean-Francis Treffel
Head of government	President of the Territorial Assembly David Vergé
surface	142 km²
population	11,562 (2018)
Population density	81 inhabitants per km²
currency	CFP Franc (XPF)
National anthem	Marseillaise
Time zone	UTC + 12
License Plate	F.
ISO 3166	WF , WLF, 876, FR-WF
Internet TLD	.wf
Telephone code	+681
Location Wallis and Futunas
Map of Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna ( French Wallis et Futuna ; sometimes also Uvea and Futuna ) is a French overseas territory (Collectivité d'outre-mer) in the southern Pacific, which consists of two archipelagos located between Fiji and Samoa . The capital is Mata-Utu on Uvea . The area consists of the three kingdoms recognized since 1961, Uvea , Sigave and Alo .

geography

Lalolalo Lake on Uvea

The territory comprises the two archipelagos of the Wallis Islands (French Îles Wallis ) with the main island Uvea (French also Wallis , Wallisian. ʻUvea ) in the northeast and the Horn Islands (French Îles Horn ) with the main islands Futuna and Alofi in the Southwest.

The two archipelagos are 225 km (Uvea Island to Alofi Island) apart in the South Pacific Ocean, about two thirds of the way between Hawaii and New Zealand, and are counted as part of Polynesia .

The three main islands, Futuna (46 km²), Alofi (18 km²) and Uvea (76 km²), are of volcanic origin and are characterized by mountains. The evergreen rainforest, which originally completely covered the islands, has been severely decimated by deforestation, which has led to erosion and soil deterioration. In 1992 only small remnants of the primary rainforest existed in Valais; on Futuna 24% and on Alofi at least 60% of the island area was covered by it. On the deforested areas a toafa , similar to the macchia , spreads out low - species vegetation, which mainly consists of casuarines , screw trees and ferns . Alofi island is uninhabited due to the lack of fresh water .

The seismic activity caused by the complex plate tectonics of the area manifests itself in frequent earthquakes. There is also a risk of tsunamis from seaquakes in the Pacific region .

All islands have a tropical climate . From November to April it is hot and rainy, from May to October slightly cooler and a little drier. The rainfall is about 2500 to 3000 millimeters per year. The humidity is around 80%, the average annual temperature is 26.6 ° C. Cyclones are common from November to April . In December 2012, cyclone Evan caused severe damage to Valais.

population

More than 70% of the population live on the island of Wallis, almost 30% on the island of Futuna, and Alofi is almost unpopulated. The vast majority of the inhabitants are Polynesians, a small minority are the descendants of the French conquerors. More than 16,000 Wallisians and Futunians live as emigrants in New Caledonia . The islanders speak French and Wallisian or Futunic , two Polynesian languages . However, only 10% of the population speak French as their first (mother) language. Only half of the population over the age of 15 (men and women) can read and write. The population has decreased by around 2% annually from 14,944 in 2003 to 12,197 in 2013 and further to 11,562 in 2018. Wallisian and Futunic are mainly used in the lower administrative units.

religion

→ Main articles : Diocese of Wallis and Futuna  and structure of the French overseas church

The first Marist missionaries came to the archipelago in 1837. Today 98% of the population belong to the Roman Catholic Church . On November 11, 1935, a Vicariate Apostolic was established, which was elevated to the rank of diocese on June 21, 1966 and the Archdiocese of Nouméa (New Caledonia) was assigned as a suffragan . The diocese has five parishes, ten priests (nine diocesan priests, two of them in France, and one religious priest), five lay brothers, 40 religious and six major seminarians. The French Ghislain de Rasilly SM has been the bishop since June 2005 . The Roman Catholic Church has a great influence on the population.

history

The inaccurate map of the Wallis archipelago drawn by Samuel Wallis in 1773 is believed to have been the first map of the islands.

The islands of Futuna and Alofi were discovered in 1616 by the Dutch Jacob Le Maire and Willem Cornelisz Schouten , who called them the Horn Islands . In 1767 the English navigator Samuel Wallis discovered the archipelago of the Wallis Islands named after him .

As early as 1842 there were efforts to place Wallis and Futuna under the protection of France , which France initially rejected. Separate protectorate agreements were finally signed on November 19, 1886 with Queen Amelia of Wallis and on September 29, 1887 with the two kings of Futuna. On March 5, 1888, the united protectorate of the islands of Wallis and Futuna was established by a decision of the French Colonial Ministry ( Ministre des Colonies ).

In a referendum on December 27, 1959, 94.4% of the island's population voted for incorporation into the French Republic. In 1961 Wallis and Futuna received the status of an overseas territory (territoire d'outre-mer) under Article 74 of the Constitution , and the residents became French citizens . In 2003 an amendment to the constitution replaced the term territoire d'outre-mer with collectivité d'outre-mer; for Wallis and Futuna this did not bring any concrete changes.

politics

Political system

The political system is based on the constitution of July 29, 1961.

The Wallis and Futunas Legislature is the territorial assembly of Wallis and Futuna with 20 members . It is mandated to legislate in Articles 40 to 50 of the Constitution of Wallis and Futuna . The legislative period is five years, and each district has a different number of members. The kingdoms of Alo and Sigave each consist of one district, Uvea of ​​three districts. The MPs move in for the districts using lists. There are currently 4 parliamentary groups represented in the Territorial Assembly, the rest of the MPs either belong to the divers droite or divers gauche . There is currently a right -oriented coalition and left -oriented opposition in parliament.

The President of the Territorial Assembly of Wallis and Futuna is elected from the Territorial Assembly. He is supported by a vice-president and two secretaries. This office of the Territorial Assembly ( French Bureau de l'Assemblée Territoriale ) performs the government functions; thus the President of the Territorial Assembly is the head of government of the overseas territory. In addition to the government, the eight committees (one permanent committee and seven technical committees) are also responsible for introducing draft laws and resolutions.

The incumbent French President , currently Emmanuel Macron , is head of state for Wallis and Futunas. He is represented by the Administrateur Supérieur of Wallis and Futuna , appointed by him . This office has been held by Jean-Francis Treffel since February 1, 2017 .

Judiciary

The court of first instance covers the entire territory. There is also a labor court . One of the judges, Wallis and Futunas, has his seat in Mata-Utu . The Court of Appeal in Nouméa , New Caledonia, also has jurisdiction over Wallis and Futuna. In general, French law is applied, which is represented by the representative of the President of France , the Administrateur Supérieur . A special feature in Wallis and Futuna is that the three traditional kings also retain some powers in the judicial area. For example, they use their own traditional case law in some criminal proceedings, while more serious crimes fall under French law and are dealt with by the Court of First Instance in Mata-Utu. This division has already led to disputes and the political crisis in Uvea in 2005.

Kings

Wallis and Futuna consists of three traditional monarchies : Uvea (on Wallis), Alo (on Futuna and Alofi ) and Sigave (on Futuna). They are officially in charge of managing the lower levels of government and receive funding from the French state. The kings are appointed by the royal and noble families. Each king appoints a prime minister and other ministers to assist. Current incumbents are the King of Uvea , Patalione Kanimoa , the King of Alo , Filipo Katoa , and the King of Sigave , Eufenio Takala .

Foreign policy

Wallis and Futuna is represented in the two chambers of the French Parliament by a member ( Wallis and Futunas 1st constituency ; Napole Polutélé since 2013 , re-elected in 2017) and a senator ( Robert Laufoaulu since 1998 , re-elected in 2008 and 2014) in the two chambers of the French Parliament and represents together with New Caledonia and French Polynesia a member of the European Parliament ( Maurice Ponga from New Caledonia since 2009 , re-elected in 2014).

Unlike in other French areas in the Pacific, there are hardly any attempts at autonomy in the archipelagos that are more than 200 km apart. Wallis and Futuna does not belong to the European Union, but is associated with it as one of the Overseas Countries and Territories .

Delegations

Wallis and Futuna have three foreign delegations representing the interests of the overseas territory. All three foreign delegations are on French territory. The missions abroad are the Wallis and Futunas delegation in Nouméa ( New Caledonia ), the Wallis and Futunas delegation in Papeete ( French Polynesia ) and the Wallis and Futunas delegation in Paris ( France ).

economy

Wallis and Futuna have very limited natural resources. The islands are mainly characterized by traditional subsistence farming, which contributes about 40% to the supply of the population in the form of the cultivation of coconuts and vegetables, livestock (mostly domestic pigs ) and fishing . Only around 30% of the working-age population are in paid employment. Of these, in turn, only about 30% are employed in the private sector, 70% work in the public sector. The gross domestic product of Wallis and Futuna is not regularly collected statistically. The latest available figures show a GDP of 18 billion CFP francs (around 151 million euros) for 2005, which corresponds to 10,148 euros per head of the population.

Important branches of the economy are agriculture with cattle breeding and fishing, trade, handicrafts and the construction industry, which is mainly stimulated by state infrastructure projects. Despite the existing potential (coral reefs, natural beauties, traditional culture), tourism is only poorly developed. There are four accommodation establishments in Valais with a total of around 50 rooms; two small hotels with a total of eleven rooms are located on Futuna. The remoteness of the islands combined with high transport and living costs as well as a lack of tourist infrastructure have prevented Wallis and Futuna from being better positioned as travel destinations.

The generation of electrical energy in 2016 amounted to 20,104 MWh; 16,768 MWh of this came from Wallis and 3,336 MWh from Futuna.

The foreign trade of Wallis and Futuna is characterized by an extreme imbalance between imports and practically nonexistent exports. In 2016, imports of around 44.6 million euros contrasted with exports of just around 15,000 euros (marine products and handicrafts). The most important trading partner is France with an import share of 20.1%, followed by Singapore (14.3%), the other countries of the European Union (11.3%), Fiji (8.2%), New Caledonia (8.1%) ), New Zealand (8.0%), Australia (7.4%) and the People's Republic of China (6.3%).

Wallis and Futuna are dependent on financial help from abroad, especially from motherland France. With France, contrats de développement are concluded every five years ; Development aid amounting to EUR 41.8 million was agreed with the contract for the period from 2012 to 2016. Further funds of a comparable amount are made available by the EU from the European Development Fund for infrastructure projects. In contrast, Wallis and Futuna's own fiscal revenues amounted to just under 20 million euros in 2016. These consist largely of import duties and consumption taxes. There are hardly any direct taxes; for example, there are no taxes on income or corporate profits. The total financial contribution of the French state to the economy of the area amounted to around 105 million euros in 2016. The weakness of the economy and the labor market in Wallis and Futuna has for years caused a strong migration of the young population, especially to New Caledonia.

The currency is the CFP franc (XPF), which is also used in French Polynesia and New Caledonia , which is pegged to the euro at an exchange rate of 1000 XPF = EUR 8.38 .

media

The French program provider Outre-Mer 1ère makes radio and television programs available as live streams . These can also be received in good quality in Europe.

Infrastructure

The road network consists of around 100 km of main roads (routes territoriales), which are only partially paved, and some secondary roads.

Wallis and Futuna are connected to the outside world by three ports: Wallis is home to the port of Mata-Utu , which was renovated and expanded between 2010 and 2013 with financial support from the EU, and the oil and liquid gas pier at Halalo. The port of Leava is on Futuna and has also been renovated since 2016 with a planned budget of 15 million euros.

There is an airport on both Wallis and Futuna. The Wallis Hihifo airport on Wallis is the international airport of the territory, that of medium-haul aircraft the size of a Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737 can fly. The airport of Futuna is located on the southeastern tip of the island near Pointe Vele and can only be used by small aircraft ( Beechcraft 200 , de Havilland Twin Otter ). For some time, an expansion has been planned, especially in the technical area (installation of slope lighting); the work has not yet been started (as of 2016). Regional traffic between Wallis and Futuna, as well as the currently only international connection between Wallis and Nouméa (New Caledonia), is exclusively operated by the New Caledonian Aircalin .

Sports

The national football team of Wallis and Futuna is the official football national team of overseas territory. It is neither a member of OFC nor of FIFA and therefore not eligible to participate in qualifications for World Cups and OFC Championships .

The selection has so far only played international matches against teams from Oceania . No international matches have been played since 1995.

Web links

Commons : Wallis and Futuna  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wikimedia Atlas: Wallis and Futuna  - geographical and historical maps

• Services de l'État et du Territoire à Wallis et Futuna. Préfecture des îles Wallis et Futuna(French, website of the administration of Wallis and Futuna). 
• Wallis-et-Futuna. République française - Ministère des Outre-mer(French, website of the French overseas ministry). 
• Reports annuels. In: Wallis-et-Futuna. Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM)(French, website with download links to the reports annuels for the last ten years for Wallis and Futuna). 

Individual evidence

1. ^ Jean-François Dupon, Alain Gérard Beaudou: Wallis and Futuna: Man against the forest (=  Environmental case studies . South Pacific study 2). South Pacific Regional Environment Program, Nouméa 1986, ISBN 982-203-007-X (English, online [PDF; 1.7 MB ; accessed on December 7, 2017]).
2. ↑ Olivier Gargominy (ed.): Biodiversité et conservation dans les collectivités françaises d'outre-mer . Comité français pour l'UICN, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-9517953-3-5 , Wallis et Futuna, p. 171–180 , here p. 173: 2.1.1 - Les milieux (French, chapter online on the website of the Comité Français of the UICN [PDF; 716 kB ; accessed on December 7, 2017]).
3. ↑ Aperçu Géographique. Valais. In: ac-wf.wf. Vice-Rectorat des îles Wallis et Futuna, April 21, 2010, accessed on December 7, 2017 (French). 
4. ↑ Peter Bird: An updated digital model of plate boundaries . In: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems . tape 4 , no. 3 , March 14, 2003, ISSN  1525-2027 , December 5 . New Hebrides (NH), Conway Reef (CR), Balmoral Reef (BR), and Futuna (FT) Plates (?) In the New Hebrides-Fiji Orogen, S. 25-28 , doi : 10.1029 / 2001GC000252 (English).
5. ↑ Today's Earthquakes in Wallis and Futuna. In: Earthquake Track. Retrieved December 8, 2017 . 
6. ↑ 334 - Wallis et Futuna: quand terre et mer se déchaînent. In: La médiathèque - Fiches d'actualité scientifique. Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), December 2009, accessed on December 8, 2017 (French). 
7. ↑ Wallis and Futuna climate: weather, best travel time & climate table. In: Climate of the World: Weather, best travel time & climate tables for all countries in the world. Remo Nemitz, accessed December 9, 2017 . 
8. ↑ Claude Dorwling-Carter (Eds.): Wallis et Futuna - Rapport annuel 2016 . Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM), Paris 2017, Chapitre I: Les caractéristiques structurelles - Section 1: Géographie et climat - 2. Climat, p. 16 (French, online [PDF; 1,2 MB ; accessed on December 9, 2017]).
9. ^ Cyclone Evan: l'île de Wallis durement touchée, Futuna moins frappée. In: Le Monde.fr . December 16, 2012, accessed December 9, 2017 (French).
10. ↑ Recensement de la population 2018. (PDF; 336 kB) In: statistique.wf. Service Territorial de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (STSEE), 2018, archived from the original on November 29, 2018 ; accessed on November 29, 2018 (French). 
11. ^ Tensions coutumières à Wallis et Futuna. In: Le Figaro.fr . October 11, 2016, accessed December 9, 2017 (French). 
12. ↑ John Hawkesworth (Ed.): An account of the voyages undertaken by the order of His present Majesty for making discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, and successfully performed by Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret, and Captain Cook, in the Dolphin, the Swallow, and the Endeavor . Vol. I. James Williams, Dublin 1775, p. 223-225 (English, online ).
13. ↑ Frederic Angle Much: uvea et Futuna: D'une découverte mutuelle tardive à la non colonization. Un protectorat récusé par la France in 1842. In: vakala.net. Association Vaka Lä - Voile pour Tous, September 11, 2006, accessed on December 9, 2017 (French, reproduction of a contribution from a colloquium from 1992). 
14. ↑ situation géographique et repères historiques. Repères historiques. In: Wallis-et-Futuna. Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM), accessed December 9, 2017 (French). 
15. ↑ Les services de l'Assemblée Territoriale. In: Les services de l'État à Wallis et Futuna. Préfecture des îles Wallis et Futuna, August 16, 2017, accessed on December 7, 2017 (French). 
16. ↑ ^{a b} Presentation économique. In: Les services de l'État à Wallis et Futuna. Préfecture des îles Wallis et Futuna, April 26, 2016, accessed on December 9, 2017 (French). 
17. ↑ Claude Dorwling-Carter (Eds.): Wallis et Futuna - Rapport annuel 2016 . Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM), Paris 2017, Chapitre II: Panorama de l'économie de Wallis-et-Futuna - Section 2: Les principaux indicateurs économiques - 1. Les comptes économiques, p. 30 (French, online [PDF; 1,2 MB ; accessed on December 9, 2017]).
18. ^ Wallis-et-Futuna - Economie. Tourisme. République française - Ministère des Outre-mer, November 30, 2016, accessed December 9, 2017 (French). 
19. ↑ Claude Dorwling-Carter (Eds.): Wallis et Futuna - Rapport annuel 2016 . Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM), Paris 2017, Chapitre III: Les secteurs d'activité - Section 4: L'énergie et l'eau - 2. L'énergie électrique - 2.1 La production et la consommation, S. 62 (French, online [PDF; 1,2 MB ; accessed on December 9, 2017]).
20. ↑ Claude Dorwling-Carter (Eds.): Wallis et Futuna - Rapport annuel 2016 . Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM), Paris 2017, Chapitre II: Panorama de l'économie de Wallis-et-Futuna - Section 2: Les principaux indicateurs économiques - 5. Le commerce extérieur, p. 40–43 (French, online [PDF; 1,2 MB ; accessed on December 10, 2017]).
21. ↑ Claude Dorwling-Carter (Eds.): Wallis et Futuna - Rapport annuel 2016 . Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM), Paris 2017, Chapitre II: Panorama de l'économie de Wallis-et-Futuna - Section 3: Les politiques et finances publiques - 1. Les politiques publiques et leur mise en œuvre - 1.2 Les aides européennes, p. 45–46 (French, online [PDF; 1,2 MB ; accessed on December 10, 2017]).
22. ↑ Claude Dorwling-Carter (Eds.): Wallis et Futuna - Rapport annuel 2016 . Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM), Paris 2017, Chapitre II: Panorama de l'économie de Wallis-et-Futuna - Section 3: Les politiques et finances publiques - 2. Le régime fiscal, p. 46–49 (French, online [PDF; 1,2 MB ; accessed on December 10, 2017]).
23. ↑ Claude Dorwling-Carter (Eds.): Wallis et Futuna - Rapport annuel 2016 . Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM), Paris 2017, Chapitre II: Panorama de l'économie de Wallis-et-Futuna - Section 3: Les politiques et finances publiques - 3. Les finances publiques locales - 3.1 Les dépenses de l'État dans la collectivité, p. 49–50 (French, online [PDF; 1,2 MB ; accessed on December 10, 2017]).
24. ↑ wallis et futuna 1ère - Actualités. In: la1ere.francetvinfo.fr. France Télévisions , accessed December 7, 2017 (French). 
25. ^ Wallis-et-Futuna (986). In: WikiSara. Fandom, accessed December 7, 2017 (French). 
26. ↑ Reception des travaux d'extension du port de commerce de Mataʻutu (9è FED - Lot n ° 1) - Mardi 7 May 2013. In: Les services de l'État à Wallis et Futuna. Préfecture des îles Wallis et Futuna, May 7, 2013, accessed on December 7, 2017 (French). 
27. ↑ Claude Dorwling-Carter (Eds.): Wallis et Futuna - Rapport annuel 2016 . Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM), Paris 2017, Chapitre III: Les secteurs d'activité - Section 9: Les transports - 2. Le transport maritime - 2.1 Les infrastructures, p. 73–74 (French, online [PDF; 1,2 MB ; accessed on December 7, 2017]).
28. ↑ Claude Dorwling-Carter (ed.): Wallis-et-Futuna - Rapport annuel 2015 . Institut d'Émission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM), Paris 2016, Chapitre III: Les secteurs d'activité - Section 9: Les transports - 3. Le transport aérien - 3.1 Les infrastructures, p. 69 (French, online [PDF; 3.5 MB ; accessed on December 7, 2017]).

Coordinates: 13 ° 18 ′  S , 176 ° 12 ′  W