Saint-Georges, French Guiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by GreenC bot (talk | contribs) at 17:39, 6 September 2016 (WaybackMedic 2). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Saint-Georges
A view across the river from the French side
A view across the river from the French side
Location of the commune (in red) within French Guiana
Location of the commune (in red) within French Guiana
Location of Saint-Georges
Map
CountryFrance
Overseas region and departmentFrench Guiana
ArrondissementCayenne
CantonSaint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock
IntercommunalityEst Guyanais
Government
 • Mayor (2014-2020) Georges Elfort (DVG)
Area
1
2,320 km2 (900 sq mi)
Population
 (2012)
3,855
 • Density1.7/km2 (4.3/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−03:00
INSEE/Postal code
97308 /97313
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Georges (sometimes unofficially called Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. It lies on the Oyapock River (which forms the border with Brazil), opposite the Brazilian town of Oiapoque. The town contains a town hall, a French Foreign Legion detachment and some hotels (the main ones being Le Tamarin, Coz Calè and the Chez Modestine).

An asphalted road from Saint-Georges to Régina was opened in 2004, completing the road from Cayenne (the préfecture and largest city of French Guiana) to the Brazilian border and ending the isolation of Saint-Georges. It is now possible to drive on a fully paved road from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni on the Surinamese border to Saint-Georges on the Brazilian border.

Following an international treaty between France and Brazil signed in July 2005, the Oyapock River Bridge is currently being built and is due to open late in 2013. This bridge will be the first land crossing ever opened between France and Brazil, and indeed between French Guiana and the rest of the world (there exists no other bridge crossing the Oyapock River, and no bridge crossing the Maroni River marking the border with Suriname). When the bridge is opened, it will be possible to drive uninterrupted from Cayenne to Macapá (on the Amazon River), the capital of the state of Amapá in Brazil.

See also

References

External links