The Collectivité de Saint-Martin regrets the announcement by the Calypso Event association of the cancellation of the Mardis de Grand-Case and would like to provide the following clarifications:
Calypso Event, the association organizing the Mardis de Grand Case, sent its grant application to the Community Life Department on December 12, and was received in the Community on January 8, 2025 by President Mussington and First Vice-President Alain Richardson.
As required by the administrative procedure and as already experienced by the organizing association, the grant application must be submitted for advice to the CAERT (economic commission) and obtain the approval of the Executive Council.
During discussions with the organizers, the members of the association were duly informed that once voted, the payment of the subsidy would only occur after the vote on the initial budget of the Community (end of February/March). The association cannot therefore claim to wait for the funds or the amount of funds as of today. The attempt to exert pressure through the media will not change the administrative rule.
Regarding the provision of barriers and electric boxes, the association was informed, as of the 2024 edition by the Living Environment Delegation, that it would no longer be possible from a legal point of view to make this logistics available free of charge from 2025, and that it should therefore anticipate this cost in its future budgets.
During the preparations for the 2024 edition, the community had clearly asked the organizers to approach the Attractiveness Economy Employment Delegation, which manages the subsidies for this event, from May, in order to anticipate its needs for the 2025 edition. An approach that the association only undertook on December 12, 2024, one month before the supposed start of the event.
This anticipation would have made it possible to propose an agreement on objectives and means over 3 years and a confirmation of the financial support of the community for the same period. With this anticipation, the organizers could have planned earlier in the promotion and organization of the event and thus avoided a risk of cancellation.
As every year, the Community gives itself the means to support attractive events for our territory, such as the Mardis de Grand Case, particularly appreciated by the public, and reaffirms its desire to support the event financially.
On the other hand, this support can only be provided in compliance with the procedures in force and the general code of local authorities which also governs the management of public funds. The Community also stresses that this type of event must be based on a reliable economic model and that the latter cannot rely solely on public funds.
https://faxinfo.fr/en/communique-annulation-des-mardis-de-grand-case-la-collectivite-rappelle-la-reglementation-en-vigueur/
