“In Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, my life is easier than in Paris, I leave work at 5 p.m. and I go to play sports”

2023-06-11 17:00:10

CLARA DUPRÉ

The first time I’m going overseas, I’m 24 and I don’t know what I’m getting into. I only know that I am committing to living a year in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. After completing a master’s degree in economics and statistics at the University of Bordeaux, I spent eight months looking for work. Then I accepted a position as an economist in a law firm which I quickly left. I was tired of going around in circles in Paris. In short, I wanted to see something else and discover the rest.

I decide to leave when I get this civic service in a company responsible for monetary creation in French overseas territories. I will take care of economic observation, which consists of carrying out studies and publications to monitor the economic situation in the area. Each year a report is published on the economic situation of the archipelago. For an economist or a statistician, it is enjoyable to have such an impact.

To reach Saint-Pierre, it takes two days of travel. From Paris, we generally go through Montreal then Halifax. The flights are very expensive. The round trip costs more than 1,000 euros. Between my old job and this one, I go from a salary of around 2,000 euros to the equivalent of the minimum wage. When I get off the plane, I notice with surprise that my director and my manager come to pick me up at the airport. Right away, I understand that there are really few people on the island. As everyone knows each other, mutual aid and closeness are essential. They take me for a ride.

“It’s a real culture shock”

In the archipelago of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, in all, there are 6,008 inhabitants. In the small town centre, five or six parallel streets, there are a few clothing stores, restaurants… Traders are struggling so much to recruit seasonal workers that many are threatened with closure. Before leaving, I couldn’t imagine the island. On the Internet, it was poorly documented. Thinking that the supply would be more restricted, I had bought cosmetics, household products, spices and Chinese noodles. Of course, they had everything there!

Also, I had the impression that it was an invisible territory that we only heard about on the weather report. When I arrive, I’m impressed because it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Small streets, with fisherman’s houses, made of wooden cladding, painted in the colors of Basque or Breton style. In the landscapes, we also find this Breton spirit of austere flora with moss and mist. We are on a pebble in the middle of the ocean. By car, you go from one end to the other in ten minutes.

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