Culture

Frantz Gumbs: twice Collectivité president, now deputy for Saint-Martin

A profile of Frantz Gumbs, President of the Collectivité de Saint-Martin from 2008 to 2012 and, since 2022, the deputy for Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin in the French National Assembly.

By SXM Daily · October 22, 2026

Frantz Gumbs is one of the leading figures in the political life of French Saint-Martin. He served as President of the Collectivité de Saint-Martin from 2008 to 2012, and since 2022 he has represented Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin in the French National Assembly, where he was re-elected in 2024.

Photo: TrisHR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Background

Gumbs was born in Saint-Martin on 21 January 1954, according to the National Assembly. The Assembly lists his profession as retired senior staff of the French national education system (personnel de direction de l'éducation nationale).

President of the Collectivité

Saint-Martin became an overseas collectivity in 2007 with its own Territorial Council. According to the Collectivité's own history, Gumbs was elected President of the Territorial Council on 7 August 2008. On 14 April 2009, Daniel Gibbs was elected interim president, and on 5 May 2009 Gumbs was elected president again. He held the post until 1 April 2012, when the council elected Alain Richardson. The reference site worldstatesmen gives the same dates.

Deputy in the National Assembly

Gumbs is deputy for the constituency of Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin in the French National Assembly. The National Assembly's current page for him shows that he sits with the Les Démocrates group and is a member of the committee on cultural affairs and education. His substitute is Mélissa Lake.

Why he matters

Gumbs has held both the island's top local office and its seat in the National Assembly. As deputy, he is one of the people who carry Saint-Martin's concerns to Paris, alongside the island's senator.

Sources

https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/deputes/PA795258
https://www.com-saint-martin.fr/thematiques/organisation-territoriale/votre-collectivite/histoire-de-la-collectivite
https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Saint_Martin.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20241002-P1110237_Gumbs_Frantz_Wikipedia.jpg

Source: https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/deputes/PA795258