Beyond the Postcard

The images are familiar: pristine beaches, swaying palms, turquoise lagoons. Tourism brochures paint France's overseas territories as paradisiacal escapes from metropolitan life. Yet for the nearly three million French citizens who call these territories home, this exotic framing obscures rich, complex realities. From the bustling streets of Fort-de-France to the mountainous interior of New Caledonia, from the volcanic peaks of Réunion to the scattered atolls of French Polynesia, these territories encompass worlds of diversity.

"Tourists see the beach, but they don't see us getting up at 4 AM to go to work, struggling with the high cost of living, fighting to preserve our languages," says Jean-Marc Teriitehau, a teacher in Tahiti. "We're not a vacation destination—we're home to real people with real lives, real problems, and real dreams."