{"id":89957,"date":"2026-04-23T21:29:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/?p=89957"},"modified":"2026-04-23T21:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:29:11","slug":"faire-du-22-mai-la-fete-nationale-de-la-martinique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/faire-du-22-mai-la-fete-nationale-de-la-martinique\/","title":{"rendered":"Make May 22 Martinique's National Day."},"content":{"rendered":"

MAKE MAY 22 MARTINIQUE'S NATIONAL HOLIDAY<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A former member of the National Assembly from Martinique and a prominent figure in local politics, Guy Lordinot is returning to the forefront of public debate with a proposal of great symbolic significance. Through a call to establish May 22 as a true national holiday for Martinique, he questions the very foundations of the island\u2019s collective identity, caught between its republican heritage and its own distinct history. Beyond simply commemorating the abolition of slavery, the initiative aims to fill a void in unifying symbols within a society marked by persistent divisions. By linking historical memory, political recognition, and the quest for popular unity, this initiative raises a central question: how can we \u00abforge a sense of community\u00bb in Martinique today, and around what shared values?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Martinique is part of the French Republic, whose emblem is the blue, white, and red flag, under which the French people unite. The national holiday is celebrated on July 14.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But Martinique is also an overseas collectivity, characterized by historical and geographical particularities that can legitimately justify\u2014in addition to July 14\u2014the existence of its own national holiday.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A FOUNDING DATE: MAY 22, 1848<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Victor Schoelcher secured the government\u2019s agreement to abolish slavery on April 27, 1848. However, the abolition did not take effect in Martinique until May 22, 1848, when a slave revolt forced Governor Rostoland to proclaim it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For the past 43 years, May 22 has been a public holiday. However, it has never been officially celebrated by all of Martinique\u2019s elected officials.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

BUILDING A NATION: THE NEED FOR A SYMBOL<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To come together as a people, a population needs strong, shared symbols. For France, that symbol is the tricolor flag. For Martinique, that symbol still needs to be established.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We propose making May 22 a true national holiday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

UNITY THROUGH COLLECTIVE EMOTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Today, the rare moments of total unity in Martinique can be found in popular sports:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2013 The Round Yole Tour
\u2013 the Martinique Cycling Tour<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

These events demonstrate that there is a real capacity to bring people together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A FOUNDING CELEBRATION IN 2026<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We propose celebrating the establishment of this national holiday on May 22, 2026.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Placed under the patronage of the Prefect, the representative of the French Nation, it would bring together:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2013 the 6 members of Parliament
\u2013 the President of the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique
\u2013 the 34 mayors
\u2013 and the entire population<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A DAY OF RECONCILIATION<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This event would be:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2013 an opportunity to overcome divisions
\u2013 a time to put aside our differences
\u2013 a highlight that brings together all the sons and daughters of Martinique
\u2013 beyond all divisions<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It would bring together all segments of the country. It would be a day of reconciliation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Only under this condition will the people of Martinique be able to truly come together as a people.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A SYMBOL IN NEED OF REHABILITATION: THE RED, GREEN, AND BLACK FLAG<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Let\u2019s remember: in 1962, while incarcerated at Fresnes Prison, Rodolphe D\u00e9sir\u00e9, together with his fellow members of the OJAM, designed a red, green, and black flag for Martinique.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A HISTORIC DECISION TO MAKE<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In 2026, 64 years later, isn't it time to:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2013 to pay tribute to these pioneers
\u2013 and to endorse this flag as a symbol of Martinique<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A PEOPLE, A DATE, A SYMBOL<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

On this May 22, the people of Martinique, united as one, answer in unison: YES.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FAIRE DU 22 MAI LA F\u00caTE NATIONALE DE LA MARTINIQUE Ancien d\u00e9put\u00e9 de la Martinique et figure engag\u00e9e de la vie politique locale, Guy Lordinot revient au c\u0153ur du d\u00e9bat public avec une proposition \u00e0 forte port\u00e9e symbolique. \u00c0 travers un appel \u00e0 instituer le 22 mai comme v\u00e9ritable f\u00eate nationale martiniquaise, il interroge les<\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":89960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_robots":"","rank_math_facebook_title":"","rank_math_facebook_description":"","rank_math_twitter_title":"","rank_math_twitter_description":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-actualite"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89957"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89961,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89957\/revisions\/89961"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}