Cayenne

Cayenne is the capital city of French Guiana, a special part of France that is located in South America. It is an overseas region and department of France. The city is built near where the Cayenne River meets the Atlantic coast. Cayenne is known as the largest French-speaking city on the entire South American continent.

The city has a motto that says "fert aurum industria," which means "work brings wealth." In a recent count from 2023, about 153,884 people lived in the wider area around Cayenne, with around 62,675 people living in the city itself.

History

See also: History of French Guiana

Cayenne has a long and changing history. Spanish explorers first saw the area but found it too hot to live in. The French tried to settle there in 1604, but the Portuguese destroyed their town. The French came back in 1643 and started Cayenne, but had to leave again after attacks by local Indigenous people. In 1664, France made a permanent settlement at Cayenne. Over the next years, control of the area changed many times between France, the Netherlands, and England before returning to France.

Cayenne became an official city in 1790. It was taken by a group from Britain and Portugal in 1809 and was managed from Brazil until 1817, when France took it back. During some years, it was used by France for a special kind of prison.

The city's population has grown a lot over time because many people moved there from nearby places and because families had many children.

Geography

Main article: Geography of French Guiana

Cayenne is found where the Cayenne River meets the Atlantic Ocean. The city sits on part of Cayenne Island. It is far from places like Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, just 268 kilometers away, and closer to Kourou, only 64 kilometers away.

Here are distances to some other cities:

• Paris: 7,100 kilometers away.
• Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique: 1,500 kilometers away.
• Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia: 15,427 kilometers away.
• Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname: 342 kilometers away.
• Macapá, the capital of the state of Amapá, Brazil: 554 kilometers away.
• Mexico City, the capital of Mexico: 5,534 kilometers away.
• San Diego, a city in California, United States: 7,363 kilometers away.

Administration

Cayenne is a commune of the French Republic, meaning it is managed by a mayor and a group called a municipal council. Sandra Trochimara is the current mayor. She took over in October 2020 after Marie-Laure Phinéra-Horth became a member of the French Senate.

Cayenne is part of a larger group of nearby towns and areas called the communauté d'agglomération du Centre Littoral. This group handles important services like collecting trash, providing water, and planning for growth. The leader of this group is Serge Smock, the mayor of Matoury.

Population

Demographics

In 2012, there were 121,490 people living in the Cayenne area. Most of them, about 56.5%, were born in French Guiana. Others came from places like Metropolitan France, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and other parts of Overseas France. About 26.7% were born in other countries, mainly Haiti and Brazil, with some from Suriname and Guyana. Among these, many were immigrants, and some were children of French citizens born outside of France.

Health

Health in Cayenne and French Guiana is generally good. Common illnesses that affect people include heart problems, infections, and cancer. There is a research center in Cayenne, part of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, that studies diseases found in tropical areas. People in Cayenne live about 76 years on average if they are men and 83 years if they are women. The main hospital in the city is the Andrée-Rosemon Hospital, which opened in 1992.

Economy

Cayenne is an important seaport in South America. The major port of Dégrad des Cannes is on the estuary of the river Mahury. Items like timber, rosewood essence, rum, and gold are exported in small amounts. In the mid-1960s, sugarcane and pineapple were planted around the city, and a pineapple cannery and a shrimp-processing plant were built later. The Félix Eboué International Airport is the only international airport serving Cayenne.

Climate

Cayenne has a tropical monsoon climate, which means it is very warm and rainy most of the year. The average temperature stays around 30 °C (86 °F) in the daytime and 23 °C (73 °F) at night. The city gets a lot of rain, about 3,500 millimetres (140 inches) each year.

There is a short dry season from August to October, but even then some rain still falls. The rest of the year is the wet season, when Cayenne gets most of its rain. The weather patterns are mostly influenced by a zone of meeting air masses called the Intertropical Convergence Zone.

Heritage

Saint-Sauveur Cathedral

Main article: Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur de Cayenne

In 1823, a priest named Father Nicolas Guiller and Baron Pierre Bernard Milius, who oversaw French Guiana, decided to build a new church to replace an older one. Construction started in 1825 and finished in 1833. The church opened to the public in 1861 and became an important historical site in France.

Fort Cépérou

Fort Cépérou, originally called Fort Saint-Michel, is a fort from the 1600s located on Mount Cépérou. It was named after an Amerindian chief who sold the land to a French governor in the mid-1600s.

Historic houses

Recently, the city has worked on fixing up many old houses with a special style called Creole in the center of Cayenne.

Place des Palmistes

Place des Palmistes started as an open space after the city walls were torn down in 1810. It was first called Place de la Savane because of the grasses there. Later, royal palms were planted, and it was renamed Place des Palmistes. Over time, it became a garden with flowers and plants. Today, it’s a busy spot where people gather, and in the evenings, food carts offer treats like French fries and sandwiches.

Botanical garden

Main article: Jardin botanique de Cayenne

In 1786, a king of France asked for a garden to grow different plants and trees from around the world. By 1879, it became known as the Botanical Garden and today it covers three hectares in the middle of the city.

Market and Place du Coq

Near the old port of Cayenne are two important buildings: a market and a square called Place du Coq. The market was built in 1907, and in 1920, a monument remembering those who served in the First World War was placed there, featuring a rooster that gave the square its name.

Village Chinois

The Chinese Village in Cayenne is close to the city center by the Cayenne River. It’s sometimes called la Crique or Chikago and is a popular place for people moving within French Guiana.

Culture

Carnival of Cayenne

Main article: Carnival of Cayenne

The carnival is a big celebration in Cayenne. It happens between Epiphany in January and Ash Wednesday in February or March.

This festival is part of the Guianan Creole culture. Long ago, during colonial times, only settlers could celebrate, but slaves held secret parties to feel free and celebrate their heritage.

The carnival ends with special days:

• Fat Sunday: the big parade where groups compete.
• Fat Monday: funny dress-up marriages.
• Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday): people dress as red devils.
• Ash Wednesday: a symbol of the carnival ends.

Groups dressed in themes march in parades with drums and music. Famous groups include Kassialata, Reno Band, OsBand, and les Belles de la Madeleine. Brazilian bands and Asian dragons also join the fun.

Main article: Touloulou

At night, special parties happen where men dance with Touloulous. Only disguised women can dance, and men cannot say no. Dances include polka, mazurka, biguine, and piké djouk.

Families also enjoy eating king cake every week during the carnival. After slavery ended, people started this tradition to share meals and celebrate together.

Main sights

Cayenne's main street is called Avenue Général de Gaulle. Near the coast, you can find Place des Palmistes and Place de Grenoble, also known as Place Léopold Héder. Important buildings like the town hall (Hôtel de Ville), the Post Office, the government office (Préfecture), and the Musée Départmental Franconie are in this area. To the west is Fort Cépérou, an old fort from the 1600s that is mostly ruined now.

Other sights include Cayenne Cathedral, a municipal library, a museum about local culture, and a scientific research center. The Jardin botanique de Cayenne is the city's botanical garden.

Transport

Cayenne has an airport called the Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport in the nearby town of Matoury.

The main port for French Guiana is in Dégrad des Cannes, a suburb southeast of Cayenne. Most goods coming into and leaving French Guiana go through this port. The city is also linked to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and Saint-Georges by roads.

Education

Cayenne has a university called the University of French Guiana. Before 2014, it was part of the University of the French West Indies. But then, because of issues about money for the university, it became its own separate school.

In popular culture

In the book Footprints Under the Window from The Hardy Boys series, the characters visit Cayenne for their mystery. The 1955 movie We're No Angels shows three escaped prisoners who hide out and run a family store in Cayenne.

Notable people

Cayenne has been home to many famous people. Some of them are Élie Castor, a politician and author, and Léon Damas, a poet and politician. Others include Félix Éboué, who was a governor of Guadeloupe and worked in French Equatorial Africa, and Eddy Gaumont, a jazz musician.

More notable individuals from Cayenne are Antoine Karam, Gaston Monnerville, Suzanne Amomba Paillé, Henri Salvador, Gabriel Serville, Christiane Taubira, and Sylviane Vayaboury, all of whom made their mark in politics, writing, or entertainment. Additionally, famous footballers like Mike Maignan and Jean-Clair Todibo come from Cayenne.