The capital of the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin is Marigot. Located on the island’s French side, Marigot is its main town, administrative centre, and principal port, facing the Caribbean Sea and Marigot Bay.
Marigot developed from a settlement in the area historically known as Quartier d’Orléans. Its name is linked to the surrounding marshes, called marigots in French. The town expanded as a harbour and trading centre, and Fort Louis was built above the bay in 1789 to protect warehouses and shipping.
Saint Martin is unusual because one island is divided between two political authorities. The northern portion, including Marigot, is the French Collectivity of Saint Martin, while the southern portion is Sint Maarten, a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Philipsburg is the capital of that Dutch side, so it is not the answer to this question.
Marigot is also associated with open-air markets, waterfront commerce, French Caribbean cuisine, and Fort Louis’s historic ruins. The collectivity became a separate French overseas collectivity in 2007, after previously forming part of the overseas département of Guadeloupe.