Details concerning the registration of the Collectif des Antilles, Guyanais, Réunionnais et Mahorais (CollectifDom) can be found in the Journal Officiel. CollectifDom was first registered in 2003 as the Collectif des Antilles et Guyanais, but changed its name in 2007 to its current title and reissued an expanded range of objectives in both 2007 and 2008.
CollectifDom was set up in 2003 by Patrick Karam, a politician currently in post as the Vice-President of the Regional Council for Ile-de-France and a member of the political party Les Républicains. The association was created to defend and promote the interests of those from France's overseas departments. The impetus for its creation was due, in part, to concerns with the lack of territorial continuity between France and its overseas departments, for example the difficulties and expenses involved in flying between France and its territories located in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. While its remit has significantly expanded since its inception, its focus remains the need to defend the interests of the overseas departments and their relationship with (metropolitan) France.
The initial objective of the Collectif des Antilles et Guyanais was to promote the interests of members of Antillean and Guyanese communities living within France.
In 2007, it significantly expanded this objective to include the following:
- To promote, valorize and defend the interests and claims of any person originating from, or sharing a community of interests linked to, the historical, cultural, economic and social specificities of the overseas departments, regions, lands and collectivities
- To defend the memory of slaves and the honour of their descendants
- To act against racism and all forms of discrimination, harassment, injury and defamation, notably concerning persons originating from the overseas departments and/or who share a community of interests linked to the historical, cultural, economic and social specificities of the overseas departments, regions, lands and collectivities
- To use any legal means in force and take legal action whether it be civilian or criminal in order to achieve its objective
- To organize any event or demonstration of a commemorative or pedagogical nature relavant to its key objective, notably national or local events relating to slavery and its abolition.
In 2008, it added one further objective:
- To promote travel between France and its overseas departments, regions, lands and collectivities, with a specific focus on any persons originating from, and/or sharing a community of interests linked to, the historical, cultural, economic and social specificities of the overseas departments, regions, lands and collectivities.