Article 74 of the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic

Article 74 of the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic governs the status of France's overseas collectivities.
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Article 74
The overseas collectivities governed by this article shall have a status which takes account of the specific interests of each of them within the Republic.
This status shall be defined by an organic law, adopted after consultation with the deliberative assembly, which shall lay down :
* the conditions under which the laws and regulations are applicable there;
* the competences of this collectivity; subject to those already exercised by it, the transfer of competences from the State may not relate to the matters listed in the fourth paragraph of article 73, specified and supplemented, where applicable, by the organic law;
* the rules governing the organisation and operation of the institutions of the collectivity and the electoral system of its deliberative assembly;
* the conditions under which its institutions are consulted on draft and proposed laws and draft ordinances or decrees containing provisions specific to the Collectivity, as well as on the ratification or approval of international commitments entered into in matters within its jurisdiction.
The organic law may also determine the conditions under which :
* the Conseil d'État exercises specific jurisdictional control over certain categories of acts of the deliberative assembly that fall within the scope of the law;
* the deliberative assembly may amend a law promulgated after the entry into force of the statute of the local authority, where the Constitutional Council, having received a referral in particular from the authorities of the local authority, has found that the law falls within the area of competence of that local authority;
* measures justified by local needs may be taken by the local authority for the benefit of its population, in terms of access to employment, the right of establishment in order to carry out a professional activity or the protection of property;
* the local authority may participate, under the supervision of the State, in the exercise of the powers that the State retains, while respecting the guarantees granted throughout the national territory for the exercise of public freedoms.
The other details of the specific organisation of the local authorities covered by this article are defined and modified by law after consultation with their deliberative assembly.
Authorities (Collectivités) governed by this article
Pursuant to article 72-3, the following local authorities are governed by article 74 of the Constitution:
* Saint Barthélemy
* Saint Martin
* Saint Pierre and Miquelon
* Wallis and Futuna
* French Polynesia
New Caledonia is not covered by this article, but by the special provisions of articles 76 and 77. Mayotte became an overseas department in 2011.

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