Senator Annick Girardin, a member of the European Democratic and Social Rally (RDSE) and former Overseas Minister, describes Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon as "France and Europe in North America." This small French overseas territory, covering 242 square kilometers, had 5,790 residents as of January 1, 2023, down from 6,316 in 1999. The population has been shrinking due to more deaths than births every year since 2016, except in 2021, with 51 deaths recorded for every 36 births in 2025. Deputy Stéphane Lenormand, from the LIOT group, expressed hope for a turnaround, aiming for more than 64 births in 2026. The archipelago, with an unemployment rate of around 3% in 2025, faces challenges in retaining young people, who often leave to study in France or Canada and rarely return due to limited job opportunities. The decline of the fishing industry since 1992 has further weakened the local economy. Fishing has been a key part of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon’s economy, but it has seen a significant drop since the Canadian moratorium on cod and a 1992 arbitration that limited France’s exclusive economic zone to 12,400 square kilometers. Between 2017 and 2022, an average of 367 tons of fish were caught annually, compared to 974 tons between 2010 and 2017, according to the Institute for the Issuance of Overseas Departments (IEDOM). Senator Girardin believes that fishing can still have a future if it undergoes restructuring. She questions why France would push for more from Canada when it fails to fully utilize its own fishing quotas. Deputy Lenormand supports the idea of using the available quotas, but this would require a professional organization to manage the resource, which is currently mostly handled by small-scale fishing boats. Eight species, including snow crab and cod, are subject to quotas in the French exclusive economic zone and the 3PS zone shared with Canada. In 2014, France sought to extend its rights over the seabed through the United Nations, a move opposed by Canada. Senator Girardin emphasizes that this issue is not just technical but also about affirming France's sovereignty. She argues that France must decide whether it wants to be a subarctic power or remain a passive observer in the region. On the digital front, she advocates for any new transatlantic cable to include a landing point in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon before reaching Canada or the United States. After the February 28 grounding of a Cessna operated by Air Saint-Pierre, inter-island connections and medical evacuations to Canada now rely on Canadian planes and crews, according to the IEDOM. Senator Girardin stressed the need for independence, stating this on May 19 during a session in the National Assembly. The archipelago, located 4,300 kilometers from Paris, imports nearly half of its goods from Canada, and the cost of living is significantly higher than in mainland France, with food prices being 70.1% more expensive in 2022. The port of Saint-Pierre, the only supply point for the archipelago, has more than 200 meters closed due to safety concerns. Restoring the quay would cost around 20 million euros, according to Deputy Stéphane Lenormand, for a local GDP of 240 million euros in 2015. The government has included the funding in the next budget, but Senator Girardin views this as a symbol of the limitations of Paris’s purely financial approach to managing the territory. In Miquelon, a village with 600 inhabitants, the entire settlement, built less than three meters above sea level, must be relocated at least ten meters above sea level, according to the prefecture. The senator highlights the challenge of announcing the funding for the second phase of this relocation, estimating that the entire process could take at least 25 years. A "dual village" is seen as a temporary solution. Deputy Lenormand, meanwhile, prioritizes other projects, including a new power plant and the protection of the isthmus leading to the Langlade peninsula, which he calls "the economic lung" of the commune.