French Guiana

French Guiana is located in northeastern South America, between Surinam and Brazil. French Guiana is both a region and a French overseas department.

Like many other regions or countries, French Guiana is the victim of multiple prejudices. Here are some examples of which I will disentangle the true from the false:

1 “Our only means of transport is the canoe”

False. A part of the territory travels by canoe and sometimes by plane, particularly the west towns (Apatou, Awala-Yalimapo, Grand-Santi, Mana, Maripasoula, Papaïchton, Saül) whose road infrastructures are non-existent or need to be developed.

Municipality of Apatou

2 “The sea in French Guiana is dirty”

False. The sea in French Guiana is not dirty, this brown color of the water is in no way due to dirt, pollution, but to the decomposition of plant debris transported by the river. By the way, the coasts in French Guiana are among the richest in fish in the world. The "Iles du Salut" which are in the town of Kourou, is the only place where the sea is turquoise blue.

3 “French Guiana is in Africa?”

False. As I said in the introduction, it is located between Surinam and Brazil but French Guiana is a French department so it belongs to France just like the other overseas regions (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Reunion , Mayotte, Tahiti, New Caledonia).