| @Sam: Peter actually has a good point. The French overseas Départements (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Réunion) are integral parts of France, with exactly the same status within the French Republic as mainland France and Corsica. They are fully represented within the French government and are in the European Union (they're even show on the map of Europe on the Euro banknotes). Likewise, although they enjoy a large amount of autonomy and aren't in the E.U., Greenland and the Faeroe Islands are integral parts of the Kingdom of Denmark, also represented within the government. The American and British overseas territories, on the other hand, are just colonies. They are owned by the US or UK but have no say in the country's government. (France also has other overseas possessions, with different levels of representation in the French parliament. These, however, are not considered to be part of France.) |
