Bernadette Venthou-Dumaine.
ST. MARTIN--Bernadette Venthou-Dumaine, an independent Territorial Councillor, school principal and teacher who undertook training at Sciences Po Paris during her term of office, officially filed her candidacy for the Senate election on the morning of Thursday, September 10, 2026.
She is running with Fabien Galvani as her alternate, a member of St. Martin’s business community who has lived on the island for several years and has an in-depth understanding of its economic and development challenges.
“This candidacy is rooted in a firm conviction: St. Martin must be represented in the Senate by an independent, present and fully committed voice focused on delivering practical solutions,” a press release from the candidate’s office announced. “Venthou-Dumaine intends to move beyond party machinery and bring elected representatives and the territory’s key stakeholders together around the higher interests of the island.”
Having regained her full political independence by leaving both the RSM-A majority group within the Territorial Council and the Alternative party, Venthou-Dumaine has chosen to place that independence at the service of St. Martin.
“Her candidacy is neither confrontational nor an attempt to reorganise one political camp against another. It speaks to every member of the electoral college committed to democratic and republican values, regardless of political affiliation or personal political outlook,” stated the press release. “She therefore invites every grand elector to vote freely, according to their conscience and with full respect for the secrecy of the ballot, in support of an ambitious and unifying project entirely devoted to the interests of the territory.”
Her candidacy is built around five major priorities for St. Martin:
1. Adapting legislation and financial resources to St. Martin’s realities, Venthou-Dumaine will work to consolidate, safeguard and deepen St. Martin’s autonomy, in accordance with its status under Article 74 of the French Constitution. She will advocate for fair compensation for transferred responsibilities, secure and sustainable resources for the Collectivity, and stronger legal, administrative and financial capacities. She will also work to ensure that the territory’s decisions are given greater recognition in its relations with the French State.
2. Securing water, housing and essential infrastructure, she will bring St. Martin’s most urgent structural needs before the French State: securing water production and distribution, modernising sanitation systems, expanding access to affordable housing, tackling substandard housing, and improving the essential infrastructure on which residents depend in their daily lives.
3. Strengthening St. Martin’s resilience in the face of hurricanes, natural hazards, sargassum influxes and the effects of climate change, Venthou-Dumaine will advocate for permanent funding mechanisms tailored to the needs of small island territories. She will also support the strengthening of St. Martin’s Territorial Fire and Rescue Service, alongside enhanced protection of the coastline, biodiversity and natural resources.
4. Making education, youth and employment a priority, drawing on her experience in education and entrepreneurship, Venthou-Dumaine will advocate for educational resources that reflect the territory’s demographic realities, greater recognition of multilingualism, the teaching and transmission of St. Martin’s history and culture, and the development of training programmes aligned with the genuine needs of the local economy.
She will undertake sustained work to ensure that St. Martin’s linguistic, cultural and geographical characteristics are fully incorporated into education policy through contextualised curricula and human, logistical and financial resources adapted to the territory. She will advocate for the establishment of a fully fledged education authority in St. Martin, capable of designing and implementing an education strategy that is closer and more responsive to pupils, families and education professionals.
5. Giving practical effect to the One Island principle, Venthou-Dumaine will promote stronger cooperation between St. Martin and St. Maarten in healthcare, environmental protection, civil protection, mobility, training and economic development. She will also advocate for St. Martin’s deeper integration into its Caribbean environment and improved access to European funding.
Furthermore, she will work to ensure that France’s overseas territories, through their geographical position, regional relationships and strategic resources, occupy a central place in France’s diplomatic and geoeconomic strategy, particularly in the Caribbean and the Americas.
“The Senate must not be regarded as a political reward, but as a mandate requiring hard work, vigilance and tangible results. I want to bring St. Martin’s realities to the heart of the French Republic, secure the resources needed for its development and ensure that legislation finally takes account of our island, cross-border and Caribbean circumstances,” Venthou-Dumaine stated.
