Fact sheet No.2: Demographics and political representation Defending the interests of French citizens in the Indo-Pacific region

FRENCH OVERSEAS CITIZENS

La Réunion is the most populous territory, with over 870,000 inhabitants, ahead of Mayotte (approx. 300,000), French Polynesia (approx. 280,000), New Caledonia (approx. 270,000), and Wallis and Futuna (approx. 10,000). Incidentally, there are a few hundred French citizens in the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, and Clipperton is uninhabited.

Mayotte is the overseas territory with the strongest demographic growth over the last five years, the highest proportion of foreigners (over half), and the youngest population (only 4 percent over 60). By contrast, the population of Wallis and Futuna is shrinking (-1.1 percent in five years) and, along with Réunion Island, has the oldest population, with almost 17 percent over 60.

The French overseas territories are represented in the National Assembly and Senate by 15 elected representatives and 11 senators. As a result of administrative redistributions in recent years, Réunion (+2 with 7 representatives), Mayotte (+1 with 2 representatives) and French Polynesia (+1 with 3 representatives) have seen their number of representatives increase. New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna have 2 and 1 representatives respectively.

There is an Overseas Delegation in both parliamentary chambers. One is chaired by representative Rimane of French Guiana, the other by senator Artano of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, neither of whom is an elected representative of the Indo-Pacific region.

FRENCH NATIONALS LIVING ABROAD

In 2021, the Indo-Pacific countries accounted for 12 percent of French nationals registered in the Register of French nationals established outside France, or just over 190,000 peopleAs registration on consular registers is a non-mandatory personal process, the number of registrants per country is systematically underestimated in relation to the actual number of people residing in the country.. This figure remains modest given the size of the region. There are almost as many French nationals in Switzerland as in the entire region.

In 2021, there were only four Indo-Pacific countries in the Top 25 of countries hosting French nationals: the United Arab Emirates (13^th, 24,390), China (14^th, 24,092), Australia (19^th, 21,233) and Madagascar (24^th, 15,434). Next in the region are Thailand (13,117), Singapore (12,776), Japan (9,952) and Mauritius (9,586).

For the first four countries, trends in the number of French nationals over the past ten years have varied widely: a doubling in the United Arab Emirates, a 30 percent increase in Australia, a slight decline of 10 percent in China, and a sharp drop of 25 percent in Madagascar. More generally, there was stagnation across the region, with a strong impact from the Covid pandemic.

Between 2020 and 2021, the number of French citizens living in the region declined. Many left countries in crisis, such as Yemen (- 85 percent) and Burma (- 50 percent). There was a drop of almost 10% in Indonesia and China, stagnation in Laos and Sri Lanka, and an increase of almost 10 percent in Tanzania and Vanuatu« Rapport du Gouvernement sur la situation des Français établis hors de France », MEAE, 2022.. In this Pacific archipelago, there were just over 2,000 French nationals on the register in 2021.

CITIZEN REPRESENTATION

French expatriates are represented by two representatives in the French National Assembly, representing the 10^th and 11^th constituencies, comprising 48 countries (Near East, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa) and 49 countries (Russia, Asia and Oceania) respectively, and around 140,000 voters each. To these must be added the twelve senators representing all French citizens living abroad.

The Councillors for the French expatriates (Conseillers des Français de l’étranger) are elected for a six-year term and represent their fellow countrymen at embassies and consulates. Numbering 82 in the Indo-Pacific region, they are the point of reference for all matters of daily life. Their representation is quite uneven: one elected representative for every 1,000 French nationals in South Korea, compared with one for every 5,000 French nationals in the United Arab Emirates.

ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT FOR CITIZENS

A Minister attached to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) is responsible for Foreign Trade, Competitiveness and the French Nationals living abroad. Most importantly, the Department of French Nationals Abroad and Consular Administration (DFAE) is specifically dedicated to them.

French nationals in the Indo-Pacific can rely on an extensive consular network: 17 consulates general and almost 70 consular agencies, plus honorary consuls. In Australia, in addition to the Consulate General of France in Sydney, there are seven honorary consuls (Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne and Perth). France is the only country with a Consulate General in Pondicherry (India) and Kyoto (Japan). Other countries have opted to set up consulates in the neighboring cities of Chennai and Osaka (see Fact sheet No. 3 – Diplomatic network and official visits).

Some of the children of French nationals living abroad benefit from French-language schooling in one of the 96 establishments within the French overseas education network present in the region (see Fact sheet No.10 – Education and human rights).

The DFAE provides financial support to local mutual aid and solidarity organisations (OLES), organisations that help French people abroad. A fund to support the associative fabric of French nationals living abroad (STAFE) completes this scheme. In 2023, 39 projects of an educational, charitable, cultural or socio-economic nature were subsidized in the region, for almost 360,000 euros, i.e. 25 percent of the subsidies granted by this fund.

French nationals can also count on the MEAE’s Crisis and Support Center (CdCS), set up in 2008. In the event of a crisis abroad, it coordinates with the Interior Security Services (see Fact sheet No.5 – Security and police cooperation) and the armed forces (see Fact sheet No. 4 – Military presence and defence diplomacy) to ensure their protection and evacuationTravel advice issued by the MEAE is key: @ConseilsVoyages on social networks and the dedicated web page.. In June 2022, under the French Presidency of the European Union, the CdCS co-organised with the European Union External Action Service a crisis management exercise in the Philippines, with an evacuation scenario following a major typhoon.

CITIZENS OF THE INDO-PACIFIC IN FRANCE

A significant number of nationals from Indo-Pacific countries reside in mainland or overseas France. The largest community is that of the Comoros, with almost 140,000 nationals in 2021, mainly in Mayotte. Next come communities from China (112,000), Madagascar (84,000), Vietnam (77,000), India, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka (49,000 each). France has historical and linguistic ties with some of these countries (see Fact sheet No.9 – Cultural cooperation and Francophonie). Political reasons may also have played a part in the development of these diasporas.