🏳 MQ

For decades, Martinique has occupied a unique place in the Caribbean. Geographically, culturally and historically, it has always been part of the region. Politically, as an overseas department of France, it has followed a different path from many of its island neighbors.

Successive waves of brown algae are inundating Caribbean beaches in Guadeloupe and Martinique, with the island of Désirade particularly hard-hit as accumulated seaweed suffocates the local population and renders beaches unrecognizable.

Every year, 45 percent of university-bound students from France's overseas territories leave their island to pursue higher education. From Réunion to Guadeloupe, brain drain keeps growing, driven by a lack of opportunity. Nowhere is this more acute than in Martinique, which is on track to become France's oldest department within 25 years.