France owns Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean.
Réunion is not an independent country or a dependency of nearby Madagascar or Mauritius. It is an overseas department and region of France, with the same broad constitutional status as departments and regions in metropolitan France. It is also an outermost region of the European Union and uses the euro. Saint-Denis is its capital and largest city.
The island is part of the Mascarene archipelago, about 679 kilometres east of Madagascar and 175 kilometres southwest of Mauritius. France claimed and colonized it in the 17th century, initially naming it Île Bourbon. The island was renamed Réunion during the French Revolution, briefly became Isle Bonaparte under Napoleon, and returned to the name Réunion in 1848.
Réunion became a French overseas department on March 19, 1946. Its volcanic landscape includes Piton des Neiges and the highly active Piton de la Fournaise. Although French is the official language, Réunion Creole is widely spoken, reflecting the island’s African, Malagasy, Indian, Chinese and European heritage.