Talk:Réunion/Archive 1

Name

Isn't this more commonly known as Réunion in English? -- Zoe 08:27, 26 January 2003‎

Yes, and it is the official English Name. Should we move the page? Tobias Conradi 22:21 May 8, 2003 (UTC)

Yes, but some sysop needs to delete the existing Réunion page first. --Wik 03:19, Oct 4, 2003 (UTC)

Fixed the spelling of 'Counsil' to 'Counsel' - Dacicle Nov 24 2003

Something is wrong here, King Louis XIII of France died in 1643, so he certainly didn't name the island after the Bourbons in 1649. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.1.181.38 (talk • contribs) 21:17, 15 November 2005 (UTC)‎

dog bait should be removed

The section on the "live dog baiting" scandal should be removed, as it has been shown have happened as a one off, and only a small amount of fisherman use dead strays (which are culled from an ever increasing stray populous of 150,000) as shark bait. I have visited Reunion exstensively myself and know that the use of live dogs is seen as a disgusting practice and the person in question was prosecuted. I am taking the sentence "It has been alleged that this sometimes involves the use of live dogs as bait, but this practice is not widespread (see external links)" as it is no longer relevant. Additionally, as this is a rather small article, it gives a rather warped view of the island. For example, on the US page, would you see a list of horrific things people have done to each other over the years? No. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Qrimmer (talk • contribs) 14:43, 6 December 2005 (UTC)‎

The National Geographic story about this issue clearly documents that the practice is not limited to one person, but has transpired for decades. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fizbit (talk • contribs) 14:03, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

I have been bold and removed the section to the talk page (below), on the grounds that the story is not notable and has no place in the island's article. The second page of the National Geographic article is titled "Practice Not Widespread"; one article published three years ago about a not-widespread practice hardly justifies mention on the island's page, let alone its own section. If the consensus builds in favour of the "scandal"'s notability, I still don't think it should have it's own subsection (along with Geography, Transport, Culture, etc); if it is indeed notable it should have its own page which can be linked to from the existing Wildlife section.

Using Live Dogs as Shark Bait

A 2005 National Geographic documented and filmed a long endemic fishing method wherein fishermen push hooks through dogs' paws and muzzles, then trail the dogs behind the boat as bait for shark attacks. The article also stated that French authorities are cracking down on this behavior by the locals.

-M.Nelson (talk) 02:35, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

I have seen the issue on live dogs being used as shark bait in local Réunion newspapers. This is, of course, illegal and is prosecuted as "cruelty to animals". I however doubt that this deserves its own section in a general article on the island. David.Monniaux (talk) 12:52, 10 August 2009 (UTC)

Proposed Flag(s)

Here is the link for the two proposed flags for Réunion:

• [1]

The one at http://flagspot.net/flags/re%21.html#apdr resembles the Flag of Oz! AnonMoos 20:48, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Ethnic Groups

There are Indian ethnic groups on the island other than Tamils- And I don't believe there are any Vietnamese in Reunion. Maurice45 14:57, 25 September 2006‎

Of course there are! But Tamil and Gujarati were the more numerous immigrants.

A few people have vietnamese origins, and some among the most famous people of the modern history of the island: Paul Vergès, Margie Sudre, Bao Vang, ...

By now, you might find people from everywhere or from any origin, surely some Malay, but in fact there is no Malay community or tradition there.

What is the most shocking in this part of the article, is how two centuries of slavery are completely ignored and just treated as a “supplemented influx” (what a shame !).

Then, chinese immigration went on during the XXth century, as well as comorian, malagasy and french ones

Channer 17:47, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

The ceaols make just 40% of the population, it can't be that 90% are creaols, 25% are white, 21% are Indians - this makes over 100% of the population. - source: Fischer Weltalmanach 2007

Of course it can: some creoles are white, others are black, etc.

Ethnic counting is forbidden in France and it's a good thing. You may be creol one day, white the next and creol white the third, zoreol another one, black if you want. You are free to say anything and nobody will never know exactly something that can't be exact. You can just count historically who came when and from where. And then that's sex that made the mixing.Channer 19:34, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Extinct vs. Dormant

Although it might seem trivial, I believe the reference to Mauna Kea being extinct should be altered or stricken. Piton des Neiges is almost certainly extinct (not listed as a Holocene volcano by the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian, and is deeply eroded) but Mauna Kea is dormant (most recent eruption dated at c.2500 BC - see Global Volcanism Program @ http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1302-03-) and likely to erupt in the future (see Hawaiian Volcano Observatory page @ http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanoes/maunakea/). As there is a distinction in the entries for "extinct volcano" and "dormant volcano" at Wikipedia, I believe this needs editing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Obelia (talk • contribs) 18:51, 23 June 2006 (UTC)‎

Political status

Given the politics of decolonization in general and decolonization in (and off the coast of) Africa in particular, should this article (or "Politics of Reunion") contain a discussion of whether there is satisfaction with the current political status and/or desire for independence or greater autonomy? Newyorkbrad 01:48, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Of course, this matter has to be developed, certainly in the historical section : the question of autonomy was critical during the 40s to 60s. By now, the status of Réunion suits to most of reunionese (just as Hawaii being a state of the USA doesn't make a problem of decolonization), but there is always to talk about and particularly to watch how to exist as a remote overseas part of European Union in a tropical environement and a cultural melting context.Channer 10:02, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I spoke to a friend who lives there about this..one important thing to realise is the economic dependency of réunionnais on France, last I heard 33% were unemployed or living on the welfare payments(allocation chomage). She said it was probably higher than that, I'll look for a source. here's a wikipedia 1: [2]taken from CIA sources.Domsta333 10:57, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Proposed WikiProject

In my ongoing efforts to try to include every country on the planet included in the scope of a WikiProject, I have proposed a new project on Eastern Africa at Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals#Eastern Africa whose scope would include Réunion. Any interested parties are more than welcome to add their names there, so we can see if there is enough interest to start such a project. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 16:27, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Notable Reunionnaise

I am thinking of starting the article on notable Reunionnaise people. However, I am unable to find any resources on this topic. Does anyone know where I could find some? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Maurice45 (talk • contribs) 15:01, 6 October 2006 (UTC)‎

Look at Roland Garros even Noémie Lenoir..Domsta333 12:13, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Arabic name

Can anyone shed any light on the Arabic name? Al Maghribain means literally "the two wests" or "the two sunsets", but Arab sailors would probably have approached the island from the north. Wikipedia pages in other languages mentioning the name have "dina", which could be a variant of "adna". Arabic for "island" is "jazeera".Shimwell 19:13, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Île de la Réunion vs Réunion vs Région Réunion

I tried to clarify the introduction.

• Île de la Réunion means Réunion Island in French; it is usually shortened to La Réunion. It is the name of the island, as a geographical territory.
• The region is an administrative and governmental structure. Prior to 1948, Reunion Island was already called La Réunion, but it was a colony; then it became an oversea department, and now both an oversea department and an oversea region. It is possible that this governmental organization evolves again in the future (for instance, by merging the department and region, or by splitting the region into two departments); there also have been calls for independance; yet, in any case, these administrative and governmental changes would not change the fact that the island is named La Réunion.
• Thus, we must make a difference between the geographical unit (an island in the Indian Ocean) and the various administrative structures that govern it. One is a rather permanent fact, the other are rather transient.
• In France, and on Reunion Island itself, Reunion tends to be referred more as a department than as a region. For instance, it has a centre hospitalier départemental, not régional.

David.Monniaux 03:16, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

If you pay attention, you'll notice that the infobox is a French region infobox. We have 25 other such infoboxes, and they all have a "Région XXX" title because the information contained in those infoboxes relate to the region (president of the regional council, etc.). As for the name "Île de la Réunion", I don't understand why you put it in bold in the beginning of the article. Why not also putting "Île de Mayotte" or "Île de la Martinique" ? The word "île" is not part of the name. The name of Réunion is Réunion, period, or "La Réunion" in official documents, but you'll never find "Île de la Réunion" in official documents. Geographers may say that "l'île de la Réunion est...", but the word "île" is not part of the name. Check the Mauritius article and you'll understand what I mean. Nobody put "Île Maurice" as the French translation of the name. Godefroy 03:31, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Use is not law : in french, it is very often said and written in all sorts of circumstances île de La Réunion so you can't confuse with une réunion (a meeting) and it is also very often said and written île Maurice so you can't confuse with the first name Maurice. There is of course no such needs to say île de la Martinique or île de la Guadeloupe.

Moreover, the article La completely belongs to the name La Réunion. You may say both à la Guadeloupe ou en Guadeloupe, but you must say à La Réunion and never en Réunion. The right title of the article (even in french) should be La Réunion. The capital for the L of the article La is the rule but it is not often respected. Réunion is an abridged form, used for titles but never in sentences and speech. If you want to see examples, just read some pages of the on line newspaper Le Journal de l'Île de la Réunion.

Best greetings from La Réunion

Channer 07:16, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Reference for new rainfall record--I'll sort out proper format and put this on main page later today or tomorrow, but have to get to work now: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=635&tstamp=200703 Vicki Rosenzweig 12:38, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Hmm population decline

hey, why did the population go down from 1871 to 1887?? was it malaria?Domsta333 12:21, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

In the islands of the south-west Indian Ocean, dengue-like epidemics have been reported since 1872 (Cotholendy, 1873; Pougnet, 1890; MacCarthy & Brent, 1946). [3]

Fair use rationale for Image:ReunionLogo2.gif

Image:ReunionLogo2.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 07:45, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

First purchase with the euro?

The article currently states that Paul Vergès was the first person to make a purchase using the euro. But it doesn't say what date that was -- it could have been either January 1, 1999, when the euro was introduced in non-physical form, or , when the euro banknotes and coins were introduced.

Furthermore, the footnote to that sentence has no reference to this event, but discusses a different matter (whether Réunion is shown as part of the map on the back of euro banknotes) and doesn't provided a citation for that either. I tried to find an image of the euro banknote to confirm that Réunion is shown on the back and I couldn't find an image large enough to show that. --Metropolitan90 01:09, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

What is sure is that Réunion was the first place where euro banknotes and coins had been officially used on January 1, 2002 0:00 just because of its time zone belonging. What is sure too is the appearance of the island on the banknotes. The notes are the source itself. No citations needed for these two statements : it would be giving a secondary source more importance than the facts themselves. Who made the first purchase, of course, has to be proved and sourced. I didn't find it yet. Channer 08:12, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

I don't need a secondary source for the fact that the island appears on the back of the banknotes, but I would like to see an image that shows it. --Metropolitan90 02:23, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Here's the evidence.Channer 09:27, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

• Thanks, that's what I was looking for. --Metropolitan90 02:54, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

A journalist working for Le Quotidien who was writing an article about Réunion in the French Wikipedia has made some research to find out whether Paul Vergès did use the first euros that circulated from hand to hand. He came back some few days later asserting that the one who did that was in fact René-Paul Victoria, who was mayor of Saint-Denis at the time – and still is. Unfortunately, I did not keep the article with the exact reference. Thierry Caro (talk) 01:13, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

Demographics nonsense

As written today, this section makes absolutely no sense !
"Réunion contains most of the same ethnic populations as Mauritius: Indian (including Tamil), Vietnamese, African, Malagasy, Chinese and ethnic French - but in different proportions. Creoles, of various origins, make up the vast majority of the population. Whites make up approximately one-quarter of the population, Indians make up 21% and people of Chinese or Vietnamese ancestry most of the remainder.

While Gujarati and Tamil people make up the majority of the Indo-Réunionnaise people, people of Hindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri and other origins form the remainder of the population

/seealso|Franco-Réunionnaise|Réunionnaise Creole People|Sino-Réunionnaise|Indo-Réunionnaise}/

Reunion is very similar in culture, ethnic makeup, language and traditions to Mauritius and the Seychelles."

If you want to give an understandable and true vision of Reunionese population, you can't miss 3 main facts :

• the historical distinct waves and settlings of immigrants from different parts of the world and their cultural contributions to the Réunion way of life,
• the weight of slavery (mainly during the 18th century),
• the importance of mixing (you know when people make love and get children, no matter the color of their skins).

Without this contextual comprehension, you can try to put people in one box or another and so on percentages, it doesn't mean anything.

Réunion and Mauritius have shared a common fate along with France and the French East India Company during the first century of their human history. From this period they keep today very close creole languages still well alive and a kind of sistership. But indian immigration during the 19th century has been much more massive in Mauritius, giving to this island a strong part of indian identity, which is comparatively very diluted in Réunion.

There are some famous people of Vietnamese ascendance in Réunion but they are individuals, not a community and there are probably more Belgians, Algerians or Germans in the population !

Some in this section try to count Whites, Indians and the "remains" are Chinese or Vietnamese. So how is it possible so many Reunionese have got brown skin ? Are they Africans, or Afro-Reunionese who do not count ! And if they are so why have they breton ancestors, and why a brother is pale, the other is dark ? Maybe the postman ? Of course some people have continuous lineages from a single origin, they are not the majority.

All this countings have a bitter taste of apartheid-supporting mind and are an evidence of complete lack of knowledge of the country.

The words "Franco-Réunionnaise" "Sino-Réunionnaise" "Indo-Réunionnaise" are just fancies. No people use them, nor for naming themselves nor for naming others.

--Channer 17:40, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

Some in this section try to count Whites, Indians and the "remains" are Chinese or Vietnamese. So how is it possible so many Reunionese have got brown skin ? Are they Africans, or Afro-Reunionese who do not count ! They're the ones counted under "creole", I guess. Apparently some people don't understand that creole refers to anyone born on the island and is therefore not indicative of any specific race or skin colour. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.196.123.131 (talk) 19:49, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

Correction, my friend, correction. Under the census, which is carried out, there are distinct ethnic groupings: Mixed or Creole, European, Asian and other. Having lived there I am sure that these terms are still in use today albeit my small minorities; though most islanders do identify as Creole, many religious Asians, such as Hindus and Muslims, do not. Nor do non-religious Europeans. Most Christians do, and, as they constitute more than half the population (some 80-90% or even more if I am mistaken), any article relevant will obviously state that "most Réunionnaise identify as Creole". Actually the same can almost be applied to Mauritius, where Christians of all ethnic backgrounds are bundled together as being Creole. Try telling a Sino-Mauritian he is a Creole, just the same as explainig to a Hindu in Réunion that he is a Creole, and you will most likely get sworn at. So, in conclusion, yes, most DO identify as Creole, but that is only either religiously- or linguistically-based.And as for the fact that anyone born on the island is a Creole, this is true only for Christians. Channer, you live in Réunion, and I'm sure you have more sense than to say that no one refers to themselves as anything else. Okay, maybe not the "-Réunionnaise" part at the end, but they still very much count themselves as being Indian (such as my Réunionnaise relatives). As for the Franco-Réunionnaise, most do consider themselves Creole, but they are a distinct group altogether, speak French at home rather than Creole and most have kept their own cultural practises. (Creole means mixed) --Maurice45 (talk) 14:38, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, but that is a mauritian point of view. Not the same in Réunion. No ethnic census too : that is forbidden in France. So figures are illusion. No fixed labels too and nobody will swear at you if you say someone to be creole.

The word Franco-Réunionnaise is never used (and completely unknown) in Réunion. If you refer to people of european ascendance (mostly french but some portuguese and other europeans too) whose skin is pale and with no or few mixing, they are described as Creoles blancs, if rich Gros blancs (a bit disdainful), if poor Ti blancs des hauts or Yabs. Both speak creole and most do not consider themselves as a distinct group. Of course educated people speak more easily good french. --Channer (talk) 18:01, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

• • There was a census in the days gone by, and it was clearly divided. And yes, while most Creoles, Chinese and Europeans may identify as Creole, this is merely a name given to anyone in society. They cannot be called ethnic Creoles, for the same reason as to why Americans are divided into hundreds of ethnic backgrounds- Irish-, Italian, African- and Indo-Americans are good examples of this. Muslims will certainly not identify as Creole- I have long-resided relatives there (something along the ilnes of fifth-generation Réunionnaise-born). My forefathers originally came from India, and as my direct ancestors settled in Mauritius a number of their kin also settled in Réunion. None of them would identify as Creole despite the fact that they speak Creole and French, have French nationality and identify primarily as being Réunionnaise. Yes, anyone born in Réunion is identified as Creole, but can't the same rule be applied to any country? Why do we in Britain divide into White, Black and Asian? Shouldn't we all be called ethnic English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish? Why do my fellow Mauritians have long-lasting racial disputes if they are all merely Mauritian and nothing more? Because every ethnic group is unique. Yes, maybe They all identify as Creole in your country, but their ethnic origin will always be a part of the unique communities that exist. A Franco-Réunionnaise and an Indo-Réunionnaise only have in common the following: nationality, adopted country and language. In the same way British Asians and ethnic English people are distinct communities. As an Indo-Mauritian, I accept my heritage as a descendant of Indians, in much the same was as African-Americans do for Africa. I noticed you ignored my bit about Hindus and Muslims. I cannot speak for the Hindus, but no Muslim would ever identify as Creole. Neither my relatives, nor their friends, nor the people in their Mosques. I've also got a good few Hindu friends who imply they are first and foremost Indian rather than Réunionnaise or even French. Yes, all people born in England are English, all those born in Australia are Australian (therefore settlers should stop persecuting Aborigines), and all those born in Réunion are Creole, but ethnically they are separate, so please think before you decide to change the article to something along the lines of "The people of Réunion are all Creole". I understand where you are coming from, and I'm gland that you believe that society shouldn't be divided on racial/cultural lines. But, I'm afraid to say, it is, and there's a long way to go before everyone on the planet will identify as a single ethnic group. --Maurice45 (talk) 12:06, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

My friend, you seem to forget something more important than "ethnic unique separate communities belonging" (!!??) and that is SEX that have begun to change ethnicty for a long time ! Sorry, I know Americans, Mauritians or Serbs give importance to ethnic identification but don't try to apply the same key to Réunion, if Reunionese don't see themselves like this. That is not paradise but ethnic origins are like clouds in the sky during a rainy day, not easy to see any distinct frontiers between the different clouds (no one contests there are different clouds ). And if you look backwards you can see the more important ascendance of people is african. Don't make confusion too between Muslims and "Zarabs". --Channer (talk) 15:23, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

My friend, I am sorry once again for disagreeing with you, but not using ethnic terms doesn't mean that they don't exist altogether. Mainland France itself has a population divided on ethnic lines despite the lack of census. AS for Réunion, Muslims and Zarabs are different- Zarabs are the Arab population (would they be called Creole?) and Muslims are descendants of Indian Muslims. --Maurice45 (talk) 18:25, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Flag of Reunion Island

Many other French island territories (such as Martinique, French Guiana, and French Polynesia) have an article for their flag. This island has a flag, but no such article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.2.115.228 (talk) 23:06, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Language

Another problem: in one place French is described as "more commonly spoken" at another the indigenous dialect related to French is described as the dominant language. Is there a debate about this, or is one or the other a mistake.64.126.139.56 (talk) 17:52, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Navigation Templates

Is there some reason why the navigation templates (e.g. "History of Africa" or "Outermost regions of European Union states") are scattered all over the article? It's not consistent with the rest of Wikipedia and it's a paint to navigate Stormcloud (talk) 09:45, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Réunion or Reunion?

Ile de la Réunion is known as Reunion Island in English, but there are not that many english speaking people who can say where exactly it is!

It's now Réunion in English as well. At least wherever it's possible to type the "e" with the proper accent. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Glenn L (talk • contribs) 06:58, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

Things to write about on Reunion

• Réunion Sacred Ibis
• Vanilla production
• Olivier Levasseur
• Cirque de Mafate

Please mention the IANA-assigned ccTLD .re (La Réunion's own domain name) in the info box.

The infobox template follows that of French regions, however, given it's overseas status, fields in the infobox more similar to the French overseas islands of Saint Martin, or Saint Barthelemy may provide for more useful information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.97.186.229 (talk) 23:35, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

a section on the climate is in order.Toyokuni3 (talk) 14:26, 11 June 2010 (UTC)

Tamil names

Articles about Réunion tend to get their name translated to Tamil, which is a problem, since Tamil is neither an official nor mainstream language on the island, even though some Indian sources may tell the contrary. Thus, adding these translations everywhere is a POV-pushing procedure or a mistake. Thierry Caro (talk) 11:48, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

Good reason. It probably would've been preferable to have put 'see Talk:Réunion' in your edit summaries so that anyone seeing the edits can see the reason too. Out of interest, it seems that a single IP 99.254.242.12 inserted all the Tamil translations. This is the same IP as BlueLankan, an editor blocked for creating articles that violate copyright, among them a previous version of Tamils in Réunion which had been titled Tamil Réunionnais. Munci (talk) 23:19, 24 November 2009 (UTC)

Tamil though not an official language, but Hindus of Reunion Islands speak Tamil, So it have to be discussed with the people here. Regarding Tamils in Réunion which was a copy right violation by the user BlueLankan, so I recreated with appropriate source and citations.... Thanks.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jai Kumara Yesappa (talk • contribs) 18:01, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

Mosque

Is a picture of a Mosque really necessary? I know Wikipedia is not really a travel guide but its hugely off-putting to see a picture of a Mosque when you discover a new place and would like to travel there. Even the article itself says that theres only a "Small community" of Muslims so why is it there? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.209.3.187 (talk) 18:11, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Réunion

Was there a proposal to separate the region into two departments? 203.198.25.127 (talk) 10:24, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Education statistics

I found:

• "4818.pdf." on the French Ministry of National Education website.

WhisperToMe (talk) 04:21, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

Who is Joe Kiopsa?

In this article, Joe Kiopsa (UMP) is listed as 'President' of Reunion. According to other sources (eg rulers.org - http://www.rulers.org/rulqr.html#reunion ) the President of the General Council of Reunion is Ms Nassimah Dindar since 2004. When I put the name Joe Kiopsa in a web search the only results come from wiki sources (ie this page). Who is Joe Kiopsa? If someone cannot enlighten me I believe that I, or another more proficient editor, should edit the page to show Ms Dindar as the `President` (of the General Council) of Reunion.Yameogo (talk) 11:41, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

Where is the full geo-political information regarding Reunion?

I added my question about the 'President' of Reunion and then began to realise that for a `country` of 827,000 people there is very little geo-political infomation in the sidebar of Reunion. Tokelau, a tiny territory of New Zealand, with a population of 1400 people has more information in its sidebar than Reunion has. This page needs some serious attention and information.Yameogo (talk) 13:27, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

I'll start by removing the "Joe Kiopsa" entry: that addition] was by an account with a history of silliness. Réunion has no "President" anyway, and the office as such doesn't belong in the infobox. I'm not sure how to put in the correct info, however. For starters, it seems to me like this article should use the "French department" infobox rather than "French region"-? SteveStrummer (talk) 21:02, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

Other 'departments' such as Guadeloupe list the President of the General Council in the infobox. But Martinique does not. So there appears to be some inconsistency on this point. I believe that these territories have a lot of self-government and the General Council President should be identified in their infobox.Yameogo (talk) 11:57, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

They are not territories but départements and therefore have little self-government. The head of state of Réunion Island is the president of the French Republic. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.222.112.113 (talk) 15:07, 12 September 2011 (UTC)

Otberg

[4].--95.114.101.254 (talk) 12:31, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

Climate information

...needs to be added. 66.183.239.108 (talk) 00:02, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

important omission

Children from Reunion were transported to rural France during the 1960s and forced to work as slave labourers by the French government. Shouldn't that be mentioned in the history section? Watch this YouTube movie for more info. 77.166.70.218 (talk) 23:33, 11 September 2012 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but YouTube is not a reliable source. If you have another source, like a newspaper article, we'll be glad to put the information in. ~ Matthewrbowker ^{Talk to me} 03:46, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Thank Matthew! The YouTube movie was uploaded by Journeyman Pictures. Journeyman Pictures is a reliable source. Reading French is hard for me, but if someone wants to confirm if other reliable sources confirm what this reliable source says you can find a list of newspapers and magazines on Jean Jacques Martial's website. He is one of the victims, and somewhat famous because he sued the French government. It doesn't matter if you read VSD or Libération or Le Figaro or France Soir or Le Nouvel Observateur; they all tell the same story. 77.166.70.218 (talk) 00:29, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

This is known as fr:Enfants de la Creuse and one link there is this article on Le Monde [5], the totality of which can only be accessed with subscription but the summary is sufficient to add a sentence to this article. The first sentence is "From 1963 to 1980, 1630 children were removed." and the title is "The Réunionnais de la Creuse want their deportation recognised.". There are also several external links at the bottom of the page. Munci (talk) 11:59, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

I've added a paragraph with a couple of sources, feel free to expand. Yunshui 雲‍水 09:04, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

Notability of three environment buildings in Réunion

Someone might want to have a look at INNOVAL, Retrofitting Building M: University of Reunion Island, France and The Groupe Omicrone, bioclimatic building In ictu oculi (talk) 02:29, 16 June 2013 (UTC)