The Americas

French Guiana (Overseas France)
AD 1644 - Present Day
Incorporating Heads of State (1664-2026)

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Located at the 'top' of South America, French Guiana borders Suriname to its west, the open Atlantic Ocean to the north, and Brazil to the east and south. Its capital is Cayenne on the Atlantic Ocean coast, while the inland, southern fifty percent or so of the country is covered by dense rainforest.

France labels its overseas territories collectively as 'France d'outre-mer' ('Overseas France'). Such territories are integral parts of the French republic with various administrative designations. Territories are divided primarily into DROM ('Overseas Departments and Regions') and COM ('Overseas Collectivities'), with French Guiana specifically being classified as an overseas department and/or region.

The name 'Guyana' is derived 'The Guianas', a colonial description for a larger region which included today's Guyana (British Guiana), Suriname (Dutch Guiana), French Guiana, the 'Guayana Region' in Venezuela (Spanish Guiana), and Amapá in Brazil (Portuguese Guiana). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name 'Guyana' originates in an indigenous Amerindian language with a meaning of 'land of many waters'.

A Bourbon French expedition discovered the area in 1604 under the leadership of Daniel de la Touche, seigneur de la Ravardière. In the same year, between 22 May 1604 and 1605, English settlement was attempted at Wiapogo (Oyapoc) under Charles Leigh, while a further French settlement was attempted between 1612-1615 at Saint-Louis on the northern coast of Maranhão (Terra do Brasil) before being expelled.

Another English settlement was attempted at Oyapock in 1620 while the French established a trading post at Sinnamary between 1623-1624. It took until 1637 before a trading post could be set up at Cayenne and, finally, this one prospered even though it initially had to be abandoned twice.

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(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Colonial Latin America, Mark A Burkholder & Lyman L Johnson (Tenth Edition, Oxford University Press, 2018), from Historical Atlas of the World, R R Palmer (Ed, Chicago, 1963), from Times Atlas of World History (Maplewood, New Jersey, 1979), and from External Links: Encyclopaedia Britannica, and French Guiana (Flags of the World), and French Guiana (Rulers.org), and French Guiana (Zárate's Political Collections (ZPC)), and Can Europe defend its frontier in the Amazon (The Guardian), and French Guiana (World Statesmen).)

1604 - 1637

A French expedition under the leadership of Daniel de la Touche, seigneur de la Ravardière, discovers the French Guiana area in 1604. Shortly after that an English settlement is attempted until 1625 at Wiapogo (Oyapoc) under Charles Leigh, while a further French settlement is attempted between 1612-1615 at Saint-Louis on the northern coast of Maranhão (Terra do Brasil) before being expelled.

Another English settlement fails at Oyapock in 1620 while the French establish a trading post at Sinnamary between 1623-1624. A trading post is set up at Cayenne in 1637.

New France eventually consisted of five colonies which covered a massive swathe of North America, stretching from Hudson Bay in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south

1644 - 1645

French governor of French Guiana. Died.

1645 - 1652

The French trading post at Cayenne is abandoned between 14 June 1645 and November of the same year. Temporary reoccupation ends in December and the post remains unoccupied until 21 May 1652.

1645

Acting governor of French Guiana (Nov-Dec only). Died.

1652

Governor of French Guiana (Mar-30 Sep only).

1652

Director of French Guiana (to 27 Dec).

1653 - 1667

Dutch occupation of Cayenne lasts between 27 December 1653 and 15 May 1664 (shown below with a light-green shaded backing), before being reoccupied by France under the 'Compagnie de la France Équinoxiale' until 1674.

1653 - 1660

Dutch governor of French Guiana.

1660 - 1664

Dutch governor of French Guiana.

1664 - 1665

Governor of French Guiana.

1665

Shortly after reorganising the administration of New France, Louis XIV officially recognises French colonies on the island of Hispaniola, while Huguenot Protestants are escaping his persecution by leaving for England and the new colonies in the Americas, including New Netherland.

John Cabot, Italian navigator and explorer, surveyed the Newfoundland coast for Henry VII of England, making him the first European visitor to the Americas since the Vikings

1665

Acting governor of French Guiana (Jun-8 Sep only).

1667 - 1676

An English occupation occurs between 23 September and 8 October 1667 (shown with a red-pink shaded background), and then another Dutch occupation follows between 5 May and 20 December 1676 (shown with a light-green shaded background).

1665 - 1667

Governor of French Guiana (8-23 Sep only).

1667

English commander of French Guiana during occupation.

1667

De facto governor of French Guiana.

1668 - 1670

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1670 - 1676

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1676

Dutch commander of French Guiana (5 May-20 Dec only).

1676 - 1679

Restored governor of French Guiana.

1679 - 1684

Governor of French Guiana.

1684 - 1687

Governor of French Guiana.

1687 - 1688

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1688 - 1691

Governor of French Guiana.

1691 - 1700

Governor of French Guiana for a third time.

1697

The Treaty of Ryswick draws to a close the Nine Years' War, otherwise known as the War of the League of Augsberg. It stipulates that Spain must formally cede the western third of Hispaniola to France as French Saint-Dominigue, while Lorraine is handed back to its rightful rulers, ending over half a century of French occupation there.

Jean-Baptiste Ducasse was the first French governor of Saint-Domingue in 1691, the captured part of the former Spanish colonial holding of Hispaniola

1700 - 1701

Governor of French Guiana.

1701 - 1705

Governor of French Guiana for a fourth time.

1705 - 1706

Governor of French Guiana.

1706 - 1714

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1714 - 1715

Governor of French Guiana.

1715 - 1716

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1716 - 1720

Governor of French Guiana.

1717 - 1720

King Philip V of Spain is unhappy with the arrangements set at the end of the War of Succession and occupies Sardinia and Sicily, triggering the War of the Quadruple Alliance.

The war begins with Philip's first actions of 1717, and is formally declared in 1718. Austria, Britain, France, and Holland unite to defeat Spain, and peace is again declared with the Treaty of The Hague which is signed in 1720.

The Battle of Glenshiel in 1719 was the second and final defeat of a doomed small-scale Spanish-supported invasion of Scotland, part of the War of the Quadruple Alliance

1720 - 1722

Governor of French Guiana.

1722 - 1729

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1729 - 1730

Acting governor of French Guiana. Died.

1730

Governor of French Guiana (to 2 Aug only).

1730 - 1736

Governor of French Guiana. Died.

1736

Governor of French Guiana.

1736 - 1738

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1738 - 1743

Governor of French Guiana.

1740 - 1748

The War of the Austrian Succession is a wide-ranging conflict which encompasses the North American King George's War, two Silesian Wars, the War of Jenkins' Ear, and involves most of the crowned heads of Europe in deciding the question of whether Maria Theresa can succeed as archduke of Austria and, perhaps even more importantly, as Holy Roman emperor.

Austria is supported by Britain, the Netherlands, the Savoyard kingdom of Sardinia, and Saxony (after an early switchover), but opposed by an opportunistic Prussia and France, who had raised the question in the first place to disrupt Habsburg control of Central Europe, backed up by Bavaria and Sweden (briefly). Spain joins the war in an unsuccessful attempt to restore possessions lost to Austria in 1715.

The War of the Austrian Succession saw Europe go to war to decide whether Maria Theresa would secure the throne left to her by her father, but several other issues were also decided as a wide range of wars were involved in the overall conflict

The War of Jenkins' Ear pitches Britain against Spain between 1739-1748. The Russo-Swedish War, or Hats' Russian War, is the Swedish attempt to regain territory lost to Russia in 1741-1743.

King George's War is fought between Britain and France in the French Colonies in 1744-1748. The First Carnatic War of 1746-1748 involves the struggle for dominance in India by France and Britain.

Henry Pelham, leader of the English government in Parliament, is successful in ending the war, achieving peace with France and trade with Spain through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Austria is ultimately successful, losing only Silesia to Prussia.

1743 - 1751

Governor of French Guiana for a third time.

1751 - 1752

Governor of French Guiana.

1752 - 1753

Governor of French Guiana for a fourth time.

1753 - 1757

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1756 - 1763

The Seven Years' War - the first truly 'global' conflict - erupts as Britain declares war on France. At the end of it, under the terms of the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau of 1762, France cedes the vast and wild ' Louisiana Territory' from New France to Spain.

The 'Royal Proclamation' of 1763 has long been debated by historians in reference to its influence on the later revolutionary war, but it was a genuine attempt to respect the territorial rights of the native Americans following the conclusion of the French-American War

As part of the subsequent Treaty of Paris of 1763, Spain itself loses the colony of Florida to the British but are happy to do so as they have already been handsomely compensated with Louisiana.

The British have been confirmed as possessors of Canada following their victory at the Battle of Signal Hill in 1762. The French regain Louisiana in 1800 under the Treaty of San Iidefonso.

1757 - 1763

Governor of French Guiana.

1763 - 1764

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1764

Commandant of French Guiana (2 Jan-22 Dec only).

1764

Co-commandant of French Guiana ( to 22 Dec only).

1764 - 1765

Governor of French Guiana.

1765 - 1766

Governor of French Guiana. Former interim governor.

1766 - 1781

Governor of French Guiana. Former commandant.

1778

After being visited by a deputation of American diplomats, Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, France declares war on Britain in support of the rebellion in North America, only too glad to make the most of Britain's misfortune.

The 'First Continental Congress' - the provisional government of the colony's rebels - began with prayer led by Chaplain Jacob Duché at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia in September 1774

1781 - 1785

Governor of French Guiana.

1785

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1785 - 1787

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1787 - 1788

Governor of French Guiana.

1788 - 1789

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1789 - 1792

Louis is unable to impose the reforms he wants and fails to support his more competent ministers. An economic crisis which is aggravated by the American War of Independence and the formation of the USA leads the government to convene the states general on 5 May 1789.

Ill-advised and influenced by the queen, Louis leads the French monarchy to its fall. The French Revolution begins on 14 July 1789 with the storming of the Bastille prison during a popular uprising in Paris.

On 10 August 1792 the Tuileries is taken by the Paris mob, signalling the end of the Ancien Régime. The king is deposed and imprisoned in the Temple with his family, and is condemned to death by a narrow majority. France is now a possession of the sometimes chaotic 'First Republic'.

The French revolutionary 'Reign of Terror' reached its peak between 5 September 1793 and 27 July 1794, with civil war mixing into desperate armed conflict with several hostile states, forcing the Revolutionary government to make terror the mainstay of its rule

1789 - 1791

Governor of French Guiana.

1791 - 1792

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1792 - 1793

Civil commissioner of French Guiana.

1793

Governor of French Guiana. Former interim governor.

1793 - 1794

Civil commissioner of French Guiana.

1793 - 1794

Governor of French Guiana. Former interim governor.

1795

The 'French Directory' is established on 3 November 1795, headed by Paul Barras, with some of the harsh restrictions of the previous two years being eased, and a more liberal form of rule being instigated.

France's Revolutionary Wars against the monarchies of Europe begins to carve out a new empire for the country, both at home and abroad, where the entire island of Hispaniola is gained from Spain in 1795.

Napoleon commands at the Battle of Rivoli, 14-15 January 1797, the first French campaign in Italy against Austria, and the start of Bonaparte's highly successful command of the French forces in Italy

1796 - 1798

Agent particulier in French Guiana.

1796

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1796

Governor of French Guiana.

1797 - 1801

The region is organised as the French département de la Guiane Française et Caïenne between 28 Oct 1797 and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801. Following Napoleon's failed expedition to Egypt, the directory is swept away by a coup on '18 Brumaire', 9 November.

1798 - 1799

Agent particulier in French Guiana.

1799 - 1800

President of dept admin for French Guiana.

1800 - 1809

Agent and imperial commissioner for French Guiana.

1803 - 1804

Napoleon sells the French Colonies territory of Louisiana in the Americas to the United States on 30 April 1803 for eighty million francs. He also gravitates the country towards the creation of the 'First Empire', convinced that creating a new French monarchy and embedding it in the constitution will make a Bourbon restoration much harder.

As depicted in 'The Coronation of Napoleon', by Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon was crowned king of Italy in Milan, in May 1805, virtually completing his domination of Southern Europe as far east as the Adriatic Sea

1809 - 1817

Since 1801 French Guiana has been treated as a colony, although it is now occupied by Portuguese from the 'Terra do Brasil' between 14 January 1809 and 8 November 1817, subordinated to the governor of Pará province (with each governor shown with a light-blue shaded background). French Guiana is restored to French control on 8 November 1817.

1809

Provisional Portuguese / Brazilian governor.

1809 - 1812

Portuguese / Brazilian governor.

1812 - 1817

Portuguese / Brazilian governor.

1817 - 1819

French commandant / administrator.

1819 - 1823

French commandant / administrator.

1823 - 1825

French commandant / administrator.

1825 - 1826

French interim commandant / administrator.

1826 - 1827

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1827 - 1829

Governor of French Guiana.

1829 - 1834

Governor of French Guiana.

1834 - 1835

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1835 - 1836

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1836 - 1837

Governor of French Guiana.

1837 - 1839

Governor of French Guiana.

1839 - 1841

Governor of French Guiana.

1841 - 1843

Governor of French Guiana.

1843 - 1845

Governor of French Guiana.

1843 - 1850

Great Britain and France are forced to go to war against Argentina for blocking their access to Paraguay during the Great War in South America. Assisted by Brazil, both countries blockade Buenos Aires until a peace deal is agreed between Argentina and Britain in 1849 and with France in 1850.

Valentín Alsina (1805-1869) became governor for the second time in Buenos Aires, albeit only for the first time since it had officially announced itself as the rival 'State of Buenos Aires' in 1854 in opposition to its parent Argentine confederation

1845 - 1846

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1846 - 1850

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1847 - 1848

An economic crisis in 1847 is the final straw for the French working classes, after a steady worsening in their general conditions under the king's rule.

In a year of European revolutions in 1848 ( Galicia, Hessen-Darmstadt, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Lombardy-Ventia, Monaco, and Wallachia also experience problems), they revolt against the government and the monarchy is overthrown.

Louis Philippe abdicates in favour of his grandson and flees to Britain, mindful of the fate of Louis XVI in 1793. Public opinion is against his grandson being crowned, so on 26 February the French 'Second Republic' is declared. French Guiana is used by France as a prison colony, or a dumping ground for politically-inconvenient citizens. It is home to the Devil's Island prison which is featured in the Steve McQueen film, Papillon (1973).

1850 - 1851

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1851

Interim governor of French Guiana (Jan-Jun only).

1851 - 1852

Governor of French Guiana.

1852

Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who has been president of France since December 1848, now declares himself emperor, and the republic is replaced by the 'Second Empire'.

This illustration of French Zouaves (light infantry, generally drawn from North Africa) in Crimea was published in The Charleston Mercury on 21 November 1861

1852 - 1853

Governor of French Guiana.

1853 - 1854

Governor of French Guiana.

1854 - 1855

Governor of French Guiana.

1855 - 1856

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1856 - 1859

Governor of French Guiana.

1859 - 1864

Governor of French Guiana.

1864 - 1865

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1865 - 1870

Governor of French Guiana. Died 1870.

1870

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1870 - 1875

Governor of French Guiana (acting to 14 Mar 1871).

1870 - 1871

Napoleon III refuses to accept the possibility of the Prussian Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen gaining the Spanish throne, and ends up personally insulting the king of Prussia.

The disagreement leads to France going to war against Prussia (the Franco-Prussian War), but the country is humiliated with defeat and an invasion by Prussia's armies (along with that of Saxony), leading to the siege of Paris. The empire collapses, paving the way for the 'French Third Republic'.

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 swept away any surviving myth of the greatness of France's military capabilities when the highly modernised Prussian forces drove them back to the gates of Paris

1875

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1875 - 1877

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1877

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1877 - 1879

Governor of French Guiana.

1879

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1879 - 1880

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1880

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1880 - 1881

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1881 - 1882

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1882 - 1883

Returned to governor's duties.

1883 - 1884

Governor of French Guiana.

1884 - 1885

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1885 - 1887

Governor of French Guiana (interim to 16 Jun 1886).

1887 - 1888

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1888 - 1890

Governor of French Guiana.

1890

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1890 - 1891

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1891 - 1893

Governor of French Guiana.

1893

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1893 - 1895

Governor of French Guiana.

1895

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1895 - 1896

Governor of French Guiana.

1896

Acting governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1896 - 1898

Governor of French Guiana.

1898 - 1899

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1899

Governor of French Guiana.

1899 - 1901

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1899

Civilian governorship of French Sudan is temporarily ended when the entire Dahomey Colony is reorganised so that eleven of the southern districts are parcelled out to various French coastal territories, including Dahomey Colony, French Guiana, and Ivory Coast.

Despite the loss of Commandant Lamy, in 1900 the French managed to join up all of their West African possessions at the Battle of Kousséri, which took place on the banks of the River Chari, dividing modern Chad and Cameroon

The remainder is split into two administrative regions: those of Middle Niger and Upper Senegal, which are subservient to the authority of other French colonies. It is only in 1958 that an autonomous state will emerge out of the former kingdom, becoming in 1960 the nation state of Dahomey.

1901 - 1902

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1902 - 1903

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1903 - 1905

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1905

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1905 - 1906

Governor of French Guiana.

1906

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1906

Governor of French Guiana.

1906 - 1907

Governor of French Guiana.

1907

Interim governor of French Guiana again.

1907 - 1909

Governor of French Guiana.

1909 - 1910

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1910

Governor of French Guiana.

1910 - 1911

Governor of French Guiana.

1911

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1911 - 1913

Governor of French Guiana.

1913 - 1914

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1914 - 1916

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1914 - 1918

Having jointly guaranteed in 1839 to support the neutrality of Belgium, when the country is invaded by Germany, Belgium's allies, Britain, France, and Russia, are forced to declare war at midnight on 4 August against Imperial Germany and Austria in what becomes known as the Great War or First World War.

Spahis formed light cavalry regiments for the French armed forces during the Great War, being recruited from as far afield as Algeria, Tunisia, and Turkey, with a regiment of them surviving in today's French armed forces (albeit with horses swapped for tanks)

1916

Interim governor of French Guiana (second time).

1916 - 1917

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1917

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1917 - 1918

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1918 - 1920

Governor of French Guiana.

1920 - 1921

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1921 - 1923

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1923

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1923 - 1926

Governor of French Guiana (interim to 28 May 1924).

1927 - 1927

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1927

Governor of French Guiana.

1927 - 1928

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1928 - 1929

Governor of French Guiana.

1929 - 1931

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1930 - 1951

The hinterland of French Guiana is separated as the 'Territory of Inini' between 6 July 1930 and 19 March 1946, under the governor of French Guiana. On 19 March 1946 it becomes a French overseas département but, on 14 September 1951, Inini is declared an arrondissement of French Guiana.

Much of southern French Guiana is covered by dense and largely untouched virgin rainforest, with only small internal demarcation changes over several centuries of French governance

1931

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1931 - 1933

Interim governor of French Guiana.

1933 - 1935

Governor of French Guiana.

1935 - 1936

Governor of French Guiana.

1936 - 1938

Governor of French Guiana.

1938

Acting governor of French Guiana (8-29 Nov only).

1938 - 1942

Governor of French Guiana (interim to 30 Dec 1939).

1939 - 1945

Following the declaration of the United Nations in 1942, Paraguay joins the Second World War as an ally of the USA and Great Britain on 7 February 1945 against Japan and Germany.

Nazi-led German troops are shown here progressing in good order through a Polish town on the first day of the invasion, 1 September 1939

Between 14 September 1939 and 16 May 1943 French Guiana is subordinated to the high commissioner and commander of the 'Theatre Atlantic West', but within that time, between 16 June 1940 and 18 March 1943, the administration remains loyal to Vichy France before switching to Free French allegiance.

1942 - 1943

Governor of French Guiana for the second time.

1943

Acting governor of French Guiana (18-22 Mar only).

1943

Acting governor of French Guiana (22-26 Mar only).

1943 - 1944

Governor of French Guiana.

1944 - 1946

Acting governor of French Guiana.

1944 - 1947

A provisional government is established in France following the liberation of Paris on 25 August 1944. Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain, hero of Verdun in the First World War, is condemned to death for his part in appeasing the Nazis, but his sentence is commuted to life imprisonment.

Syria was administered by Vichy France following the fall of France to the Nazi Germans - until Free French and British forces managed to wrest control

1946 - 1947

Governor of French Guiana.

1947 - 1959

The 'Fourth Republic' is declared, almost as a continuation of the 'Third Republic' before it. This republic is discredited by inflation and colonial defeats, including a major defeat in Vietnam which effectively ends French involvement in Indochina.

1947 - 1955

Prefect of the French republic.

1955 - 1957

Prefect of the French republic.

1957 - 1958

Prefect of the French republic.

1958 - 1960

Prefect of the French republic (acting to 1 Nov 1958).

1960 - 1965

The early years of the French 'Fifth Republic' involve a decade of withdrawal from colonial possessions. In 1960, the Central African Republic, Chad, Dahomey (Benin), Madagascar, Mali, and Niger gain full independence from former 'French Equatorial Africa', while Mauritania leaves French West Africa. In 1962, Algeria also wins independence.

The spring of revolution in Paris in 1968 brought social change to France as a whole, as did a similar revolutionary spirit across much of the western world

1960 - 1963

Prefect of the French republic.

1963 - 1967

Prefect of the French republic.

1967 - 1970

Prefect of the French republic.

1970 - 1972

Prefect of the French republic.

1972 - 1974

Prefect of the French republic.

1974 - 1977

Prefect of the French republic.

1975 - 1997

Over three hundred thousand Hmong escape Laos to enter refugee camps in Thailand. During this period, another fifty to a hundred thousand die from fighting, disease, and starvation. Ultimately up to a hundred thousand settle in the USA, with large numbers also going to Canada, French Guiana, Australia, and France and Germany.

1977 - 1980

Prefect of the French republic.

1980 - 1981

Prefect of the French republic.

1981 - 1982

Commissioner of the French republic.

1982 - 1984

Commissioner of the French republic.

1984 - 1986

Commissioner of the French republic.

1986 - 1988

Commissioner of the French republic.

1988 - 1990

Prefect of the French republic.

1990 - 1992

Prefect of the French republic.

1992 - 1995

Prefect of the French republic.

1995 - 1997

Prefect of the French republic.

1997 - 1999

Prefect of the French republic.

1999 - 2002

Prefect of the French republic.

2002 - 2006

Prefect of the French republic.

2006 - 2009

Prefect of the French republic.

2008

A controversial military operation across French Guiana is relaunched by French President Sarkozy in the form of 'Operation Harpie'. Legionnaires, soldiers, and gendarmes are soon stuck in a loop of 'seek, chase, seize, repeat' with small, often-armed groups of garimpeiros: economically desperate gold prospectors, predominantly Brazilian, who use enormous quantities of mercury in pursuit of their dreams of one day striking it rich.

Contaminated slurry is discharged into the River Maroni from a mining site on the Surinamese side of the border, an ongoing problem for French Guiana's authorities in the twenty-first century

2009 - 2011

Prefect of the French republic.

2011 - 2013

Prefect of the French republic.

2013 - 2016

Prefect of the French republic.

2016

Acting prefect of the French republic.

2016 - 2017

Prefect of the French republic.

2017 - 2019

Prefect of the French republic.

2019

Acting prefect of the French republic.

2019 - 2020

Prefect of the French republic.

2020

Prefect of the French republic for the second time.

2020 - 2023

Prefect of the French republic.

2023 - On

Prefect of the French republic.

2025

Illegal prospectors within French Guiana still number between six and seven thousand, working across roughly six hundred mining sites. In the eight months since the AP-51 French military camp is established, the gendarmes and legionnaires have sufficiently suppressed illegal mining activity so that it is become tough to find.

A swathe of the Amazon stretches from Colombia to French Guiana and northern Brazil, and the French side of its borders are constantly being patrolled for illegal mining operations