La petite île antillaise de Saint-Martin (90km²) a vu sa population pratiquement tripler ces deux dernières décennies, passant de 25 000 à 70 000 insulaires environ. Les migrations intra-caribéennes sont la cause essentielle du sensible accroissement démographique de cette île mi-française, mi-hollandaise au niveau de vie comparable à celui de l’Europe occidentale mais située dans une aire géographique moins privilégiée. L’article tend à interroger le lien de causalité entre l’afflux massif de populations allochtones et la partition de l’île, ce dernier facteur paraissant déterminant pour la compréhension du phénomène migratoire vers Saint-Martin. L’île serait rendue plus encore attractive par l’existence de cette frontière qui, d’une part, favorise un dynamisme économique particulier et, d’autre part, rend le contrôle des flux migratoires plus difficile en raison du différentiel législatif entre ses deux parties. The small Caribbean island of St. Martin (90km ²) saw its population nearly tripled in the last two decades, from 25 000 to about 70 000 islanders. The intra-Caribbean migrations are the main cause of significant population growth of the mid-French, mid-Dutch island where standard of living is comparable to that of Western Europe but located in a geographical area less privileged. The article tends to question the causal link between the massive influx of immigrants populations and the partition of the island, the latter factor appearing crucial for understanding the phenomenon of migration to Saint-Martin. The island would be made more attractive by the existence of this border which, on the one hand, promotes a particular economic dynamism and, on the other hand, gives the control of migration flows more difficult because of the legislative differential between its two parties
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