Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (, literally Saint-Laurent of the Maroni; ) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. It is the second most populous city of French Guiana, with 49,173 inhabitants at the January 2020 census.
History
Founded in 1858 by Auguste Baudin, it was formerly the arrival point for prisoners, who arrived at the Camp de la Transportation.
The town was near an Amerindian settlement called Kamalakuli named after their chief. On 15 September 1880, the town became the capital city of a special prison commune; the mayor was the Director of the Penitentiary Administration.
When Gaston Monnerville was elected Deputy in 1932, he tried to close the prison complex. On 17 June 1938, the prison was repealed, but the final closure did not come until 1946. On 9 November 1949, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni became a regular commune.
Geography
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is a border town in north-west French Guiana. It is located on the Maroni River (in Dutch: Marowijne), opposite the town of Albina in Suriname which can be reached by ferry or pirogue. It does not, therefore, have an Atlantic coast; this may have motivated the choice of the town's location, as the penal authorities wanted to prevent the escape of prisoners from the Prison of St-Laurent-du-Maroni by a sea route.
The ethnic composition of the town is, as everywhere in French Guiana, diverse: Maroons are today the largest ethnic group, followed by Creoles, Amerindians, Haitians, métropolitains and Brazilians.
Maroons will mostly be found in the neighbourhoods called la Charbonnière (Djukas, Saramakas and Paramaccans), les Vampires and les Sables Blancs. Amerindians are located in a few villages on the outskirts of town: Balaté (Arawaks), Paddock, Prospérité, Terre Rouge, Espérance, Village Pierre (Kalinas).
Demographics
Historical population
Migrations
The places of birth of the 43,600 residents in the commune of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni at the 2015 census were the following: 64.1% were born in French Guiana 5.3% in Metropolitan France 0.9% in Martinique 0.5% in Guadeloupe 0.2% in other parts of Overseas France 29.0% in foreign countries (notably Suriname, followed by Brazil and to a lesser extent Haiti); among these, 28.4% were immigrants and 0.7% were children of French citizens born abroad
These were the countries of birth of the immigrants living in the commune of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni at the 2009 census: born in Suriname: 7,631 born in Brazil: 3,105 born in Haiti: 1,199 born in Guyana: 327 born in other countries: 530
Environment
This river town has long been the headquarters of an important association for the protection of the environment: "Le pou d'agouti" (an environmental organisation named after an annoying local mite with an itchy bite which strives for the protection of local and regional fauna and flora.
It is also the point of departure for several ecotourism circuits, most notably journeys upriver to explore the many creeks as well as the Amazonian rainforest; tourists can spend a night in the jungle in huts or tents. Another possibility is visiting the Voltaire Falls, situated upriver.
Industrial activities, slowly increasing urban density and its accompanying shanty towns as well as poaching have damaged the surrounding area, but on 23 May 2009, a species of Caecilian theretofore unknown to man was discovered in town.
Transport
Between 1890 and 1897, a 16 kilometre Decauville railway was constructed between Saint-Laurent-du Maroni and Saint-Jean-du-Maroni. Another 22 kilometre railway was built to the sawmill at Charvein. The railways were abandoned after the penal camps closed.
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni can be accessed chiefly by road, the Route Nationale 1, from Cayenne. A new port was recently built on the Maroni, but currently lacks proper wharf infrastructure and sufficient river depth. The Saint-Maurice airfield was decommissioned in 1946, but is used for sports. The Saint-Jean road links Saint-Laurent to Saint-Jean-du-Maroni and the military base there.
In 2010, Route Nationale opened connecting Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni starting from the Plateau des Mines to Apatou. The road was opened with the Tour of Guiana. The road is scheduled to be extended to Maripasoula. Construction work on the section between Apatou and Papaïchton is planned to commence in 2021.
The town is also an important port of departure for those going inland via pirogue or to Albina in Suriname by ferry or pirogue.