ional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote
to serve six-year terms)
elections : General Council - last held NA March 1994 (next to be held
NA 2000); Regional Council - last held 25 June 1993 (next to be held
NA 1999)
election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - PCR 12, PS 12, UDF 11, RPR 5, others 7; Regional
Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UPF 17,
Free-Dom Movement 13, PCR 9, PS 6
note : Reunion elects 3 representatives to the French Senate;
elections last held 24 September 1992 (next to be held NA); results -
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1, FRA 1,
independent 1; Reunion also elects 5 deputies to the French National
Assembly; elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993 (next to be held as
a special election on 25 May - 1 June 1997); results - percent of vote
by party - NA; seats by party - PS 1, PCR 1, UPF 1, RPR 1, UDF-CDS 1

Judicial branch: Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel

Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre'
Maurice PIHOUEE]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Ibrahim DINDAN];
Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; France-Reunion Future
or FRA [Andre THIEN AH KOON]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude
FRUTEAU]; Social Democrats or CDS; Union for France or UPF (includes
RPR and UDF); Free-DOM Movement [Marguerite SUDRE]; National Front
(FN), Alix MOREL

International organization participation: FZ, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas department of
France)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas department of
France)

Flag description: the flag of France is used

Economy

Economy - overview: The economy has traditionally been based on
agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a
century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The
government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to
relieve high unemployment, which recently amounted to one-third of the
labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is
extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The
white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other
segments of the population, often approaching European standards,
whereas indigenous groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical
of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe
rioting in Februa