Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni | |
---|---|
![]() |
![]() |
region | French Guiana |
Department |
French Guiana ( sous-préfecture ) |
Arrondissement | Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni |
Community association | Ouest guyanais |
Coordinates | 5 ° 30 ′ N , 54 ° 2 ′ W |
height | 0-468 m |
surface | 4,830.00 km 2 |
Residents | 42,612 (January 1, 2017) |
Population density | 9 inhabitants / km 2 |
Post Code | 97320 |
INSEE code | 97311 |
![]() Entrance gate to the transit camp of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni |
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is a town with 42,612 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the northwest of French Guiana near the mouth of the Maroni on the border with Suriname .
Since 2007 there has been a town partnership with Saint-Joseph in Martinique .
history
On the initiative of Napoleon III. Founded in 1858 as a penal colony, those convicted of forced labor were first deported to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni during the French Revolution and then again between 1852 and 1945.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Martinierebagne.jpg/220px-Martinierebagne.jpg)
The Martinière , one of the prison ships with which convicts were deported from France to French Guiana
The city is best known for the novel Papillon by Henri Charrière and its prison camp, which was used as a transit camp for the notorious prisons on Devil's Island .
sons and daughters of the town
- Raoul Diagne (1910 - 2002), French football player and coach.
- Léon Bertrand (* 1951), French politician (UMP), Minister for the Environment, Energy, Overseas (2002–2007)
Web links
Commons : Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni - Collection of images, videos and audio files