St. Pierre and Miquelon
The first ballots cast in the French elections belonged to residents of St. Pierre and Miquelon, two tiny islands off the coast of Eastern Canada. The windswept, foggy isles are part of France through and through — they even take the Euro. Their biggest claims to fame are cod, fog, and making a mint during Prohibition, when the isles were used as a storage base for Canadian liquor. A local bar on the island claims to have Al Capone’s hat.
They were pro-Vichy during WWII, and Canada briefly considered an invasion. But in December of 1941, De Gaulle took the island for free France, without a shot, with the strange hybrid submarine cruiser, the Surcouf. Also in tow for the occasion were three corvettes and a New York Times reporter who was kidnapped and smuggled onto the sub after asking questions about the invasion. War is hell.
Today, the islands make their money from fishing, tourism, and aid from the French government, which pours $25 million in aid to the 5,000 inhabitants yearly. But while this might make you or me lazy, it looks as though the residents plan to sponsor a Drive to France contest. This will be a surprise to Google maps; they won’t even let you swim.
For more images, take in the Saint Piere and Miquelon pool’s slideshow at flickr. And Wikipedia’s history page is pretty nifty too.
