Stories about French Guiana

Martinique, French Guiana: “No” To More Autonomy

The referendum which took place on Sunday, January 10th 2010, in the French Overseas Regions of Martinique and French Guiana to vote for either more autonomy from France or to keep the same status, was along awaited and its results have left bloggers with mixed feelings. The following is a roundup of some Martinican blogs and their insight on what took place.

13 January 2010

French Caribbean: Farewell Mickael

The news of the death of the King of Pop was like an earthquake felt around the world. The shock wave reached the French Caribbean, where bloggers from Martinique, Guadeloupe,...

29 June 2009

Martinique: President Sarkozy

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has finally met with elected representatives of French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Réunion, regarding the crisis which has been shaking the French West Indies for the...

20 February 2009

Martinique: Bitterness after “The Last Masters”

Ever since the February 5th broadcast of The Last Masters of Martinique, a documentary about the Békés, the French West Indies have experienced the equivalent of a sociological tsunami. Bloggers and regular citizens alike are writing to express the shock, sadness and humiliation felt by many non-Béké Martinicans after watching the documentary.

12 February 2009

Martinique: The last masters of the islands?

As the two-week-long-protest in Guadeloupe continues, the other French Overseas Departments of America - French Guiana and Martinique - are thinking about their own contribution to this deep thinking and massive mobilization. In the midst of this brainstorming, the French-encrypted and sometimes trouble-making channel, Canal+ is seasoning up the debate with a sizzling hot documentary about the tight relationships between certain ethnic groups and economic domination on the French island of Martinique. The Martinican blogosphere, naturally, has been buzzing...

5 February 2009

French Guiana: The Unheard Blackout

For more than a week now, French Guiana has been in turmoil. The population is protesting against the skyrocketing price of gas by blocking roads, closing schools, and businesses. The cost of gas is currently €1,77 per liter (US$ 2,25), in contrast to the price of oil, which has been going as low as US$ 50,00 per barrel in the past weeks. The French Guianese blogosphere echoes this massive mobilization.

3 December 2008

France Antilles news website launched

le blog de [moi] writes about the launch of a new, daily news website for the French Antilles[fr],  featuring the latest from Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane: “What joy!  Yes, pure...

25 November 2008

Carnival: Videos from around the world

One way to know about a culture, is to see how they celebrate and why. Many countries share a common festival, the carnival, and each country gives a distinctive flavour to the celebration. Carnival usually takes place during the weeks prior to Lent in Catholic countries, and it's usually a time to revel, enjoy and feast before the 40 days of fasting and prayer in preparation of Easter begin. Citizen videos show us how carnival season was spent this year in Bolivia, French Guyana, Goa, India and Croatia.

8 February 2008

Language death: evolution, natural selection or cultural genocide?

We live in a world of just 194 countries, give or take, but speak between 7,000 and 8,000 languages. That linguistic diversity is fast disappearing, often thanks to the privileged position given to colonial languages, as well as the globalization of media and technology. But is this really cause for alarm?

5 October 2007