The border dates back to 1648, when France and the Netherlands agreed to divide the Caribbean island of Saint Martin but never precisely delineated its border. Instead, a de facto frontier emerged over the centuries, creating recurring disputes over permits, law enforcement and environmental management around the lagoon.
It ultimately took Hurricane Irma in 2017, which devastated more than 95 percent of the island’s buildings, to push Paris and The Hague to finally settle the question.
“France can be proud of having settled one of its oldest territorial disputes,” lawmaker Bertrand Bouyx, who steered the legislation through parliament, wrote in a report accompanying the bill.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands must still ratify the agreement before entering into force.