Saint-Philippe

**Saint-Philippe** (Taharian Creole: *Sin-Filip*) is a city and commune in the overseas region of Tahare, of which it is a subprefecture. It is located on the southwestern coast of the island.

As of 2021, the commune has a population of approximately 129,630, making it both the second most-populous commune of Tahare behind Sainte-Anne, and the second most-populous commune in overseas Marone. The city was the first initial location of colonial development in Tahare, and served as the colonial capital of the Vorellian Islands Colony from its foundation until 1844, when the capital was moved to Sainte-Anne. Saint-Philippe is considered to be one of the centers of both the *Greb* and *Pondiche* communities in Tahare.

## Demographics

With a population of approximately 129,630 residents in 2021, Saint-Philippe is the second most-populous commune in Tahare behind Sainte-Anne. For most of the early history of Tahare, Saint-Philippe was the island's most-populous commune. This changed amidst the end of slavery, which saw the fall in dominance of Saint-Philippe's agricultural industry as the island's economy diversified, and by 1830 its population had been surpassed by that of Sainte-Anne for the first time.

Following the 2018 Maronan census, 80.0% of residents were born in Tahare, 13.5% of residents were born in metropolitan Marone, 2.0% were born elsewhere in overseas Marone, 1.2% were born abroad with Maronan citizenship at birth, and 3.3% were immigrants. The overwhelming majority of residents born elsewhere in overseas Marone were born in Jalotte, while most immigrants were born in Papagusca, Podros, or in Helonesia.

### Ethnic groups

Like the rest of Tahare, Saint-Philippe is home to a multiethnic community, with various ethnic groups residing in the city. As Saint-Philippe began as an agricultural community, its first residents were primarily *Grebs*, who owned and managed the plantations, and their slaves, taken from neighboring nations in East Tarfica. Following the abolition of slavery in 1820, the population of Tahare diversified, including in Saint-Philippe. While many newly freed slaves left the largely agricultural southern coast to seek employment in the north, the *Grebs* began importing indentured servants from Tiria to replace their lost workers. Many of these Tirian indentured servants were of Namil origin, and settled permanently on the island following the completion of their work contracts. This has led Saint-Philippe to have a significant community of *Grebs* and *Pondiches*, the latter term referring to Taharians of Namil origin. While *Grebs* and *Pondiches* do make up a significant portion of the city's population, there are numerous other ethnic groups residing in the city, and Saint-Philippe is commonly looked at one of Tahare's most ethnically diverse communes.

As the Maronan census does not ask residents questions about their race or ethnicity, the exact ethnic breakdown of the city's population is unknown. However, ethnic mixing is also believed to be high, and interethnic tensions have been warm for most of modern history.

### Religion

Saint-Philippe is home to a variety of religious communities, with the most prevalent being the Eurean Catholics, Tirus, and both Eurean and Ryptian Muslims. As the Maronan census does not ask residents questions about their religious affiliation, the exact religious breakdown of the city's population is unknown, however there is believed to be high degrees of religious harmony and religious conflicts are rare. The city is also home to small communities practicing other branches of Christianity and those who practice Helonesian traditional religions.

The Eurean Catholic community in Saint-Philippe is served by the Diocese of Sainte-Anne de La Tahare, based in Sainte-Anne, while Saint-Philippe Cathedral is the city's main Catholic cathedral. The Tiru community in Tahare is represented by the shankacharya of Saint-Philippe, who is based in the Temple de Yadroodra in Saint-Philippe, which is also the largest Tiru temple in all of Marone.

## Government

Saint-Philippe is a subprefecture of Tahare and its second most important city, following Sainte-Anne. The city also served as its capital from the start of its colonization until 1844. As a subprefecture of the region, it is additionally the seat of one of the subprefects of Tahare. The subprefect is appointed by the president of Marone on the advice of the prime minister and interior minister, and their main duty is to deputize the prefect of Tahare. The prefect is a direct representative of the president, and is responsible for exercising the duties of the presidency while the president is unavailable. In effect, the prefect acts as the head of state of Tahare when the president is not present in the region, and the subprefect acts as the prefect while the prefect is not present in the subprefecture or its surrounding arrondissement. The subprefecture also assists in overseeing public safety and national security, such as coordinating the local police force and issuing driver's licenses and passports.

The central authoritative body of Saint-Philippe is the Council of Saint-Philippe, the city's municipal council. The council is composed of 42 members, and is presided over by the mayor and their deputy mayors, who join the mayor to form the mayoral cabinet. The mayor is directly elected by voters registered in the city as the leader of the electoral list which receives the most votes in the election; the seats are distributed proportionally in accordance with the amount of votes that each electoral list received. In addition to the Hôtel de ville de Saint-Philippe, which is based in the Vieille-Ville neighborhood, there are three other city halls located in the Baie-Noire, Sainte-Marie, and Le-Sol-d'Or, neighborhoods, in order to provide stronger access to municipal services to residents. The mayor is tasked with appointing an assistant mayor to oversee each of the three other city halls. The city is also the center of the Saint-Philippe métropole, with the mayor additionally serving as president of the métropole and its grand council.

### Subdivisions

Like most large metropolitan communes in Marone, Saint-Philippe is divided into several neighborhoods (Maronan: *quartiers*). The neighborhoods are officially defined by the regional government and exist primarily for statistical, local government, and historical reasons.

There are 22 neighborhoods of Saint-Philippe:

* Belleplage
* Carambole
* Cascade-sur-Plage
* Ciel-d'Azur
* L'Étincelle
* Fleurs-Violettes
* Le Luminaire
* Palmélie
* Le Paradis
* La-Rivière-du-Nord
* La-Rivière-du-Sud
* Roches-Noires
* Saint-Philippe-les-Hauts
* Le-Sol-d'Or
* La Solitude
* Vieille-Ville
* Village-de-l'Aurore
* Ville-Libre
* Volcan-de-l'Enfer