[Hasknewbie]

>> Semantically no, but in reality it is.

If you're still including French oversea departments in that statement, then you are out of your depth here, I must say. Do you know people from the French Caribbeans or Reunion? I do. If you had said they feel under-represented, not supported enough by their government (relative to other regions), or victim of racism, you would have been correct. But talks about being 'colonized'? I have basically never heard that. This is not even part of the discussion for them.

This is supported by their local political landscape: independentist-leaning parties are either anecdotical in size, or have changed their position on this topic. Hell, there are more overt secessionist parties on the French mainland itself (Britany, Corsica), which should tell you something.

This is also a weird remark to make, since France is known to still be very much a neo-colonial power that often interfere in their former colonies' politics, and seldom for the better. So if you're looking for nefarious colonialist behaviour, it's there, just not in their oversea departments.

[MisterPC]

No, I wasn't making any remark about French colonies as I was replying to a direct question about Hawaii.

I actually think unification is preferable to independence. Independence mainly seems to benefit the people in control.