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Kourou

Kourou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. In addition to being an administrative district within French Guiana, it is also the main town within that district. Within the Kourou district lies the Guiana Space Centre, France and the European Space Agency's main spaceport. Some 60 km northwest of the French Guyanese capital Cayenne the Kourou River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. At the mouth of this river sits the town of Kourou, which is ringed by four hills: Carapa, Pariacabo, Café and Lombard, with the Singes and Condamine mountains not far behind. There are three lakes within the town's city limits: Lake Bois Diable (where one can take lessons in jetski and other aquatic sports), Lake Marie-Claire (the smallest and calmest), and Lake Bois Chaudat (the biggest of the three; also open to sport lovers, especially canoers and kayakers). Long white sand beaches and some rocky outcrops line the town's ocean coast, the riverbank and all points inland consisting mostly of mangrove and dense tropical rainforest. The town had a fast-growing population of 25,918 inhabitants at the 2007 census. Its inhabitants can be classified into three ethnic groups of roughly equal size: Indigenous peoples (mostly Kalina also called Galibi), Creoles, Maroons (Boni and Saramaka), Whites (mostly French, from Metropolitan France), and Foreigners (Brazilians, Surinamese, Hmong, Haitians, Guyanese, etc.) The Saramaka mostly settled in the quartier Saramaka, along the river. Much of it burned down in a fire in 2006, and hasn't yet fully recovered. Guiana in general has a high level of crime compared to the rest of France's départements; Kourou has an average of two armed robberies a day. A march protesting the high level of insecurity felt by most of the population was held in Kourou on 27 October 2006. Shopkeepers of Chinese descent in particular are often targeted by armed robbers, their cash registers emptied and some products stolen. Kourou is the port of departure for those going to the îles du Salut, of which the most famous is Devil's Island. It is also common for many to go up the river in canoes on weekends to camp in the forest. The Guiana Space Centre, where the European Space Agency starts missions, is located a little behind and outside the town. Part of the town and the islands are closed during rocket launches.

Îles du Salut

The Îles du Salut are a group of small islands of volcanic origin about 11 km off the coast of French Guiana in the Atlantic Ocean. Although closer to Kourou, the islands are part of Cayenne commune , specifically Cayenne 1er Canton Nord-Ouest. There are three islands, from north to south: Île du Diable, the most famous due to the political imprisonment there of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, is better known to English speakers as "Devil's Island". The total area is 0.62 km² . Île du Diable and Île Royale are separated by Passe des Grenadines, Île Royale and Île Saint-Joseph by Passe de Désirade. The islands were part of a notorious penal colony from 1852 onwards for only the worst criminals of France. The main part of the penal colony was a labor camp stretched along the border with Dutch Guiana, which today is Surinam. Île Royale was for the general population of the worst criminals of the penal colony to roam about in moderate freedom due to the difficulty of escape from the island. Île Saint-Joseph was for the worst of those criminals to be punished in solitary confinement in silence and for extra punishment in darkness of the worst of the worst criminals of the penal colony. Île du Diable was for political prisoners, including Dreyfus in 1895-1899 after his conviction in metropolitan France for treason. This penal colony for the very worst criminals of France was controversial for it had a reputation for harshness and brutality. Prisoner upon prisoner violence was common, tropical diseases would kill many others, and a small core of broken survivors would return to France to tell how horrible it was and scare other potential criminals straight. This system was gradually phased out and has been completely shut down since 1953. Nowadays the islands are a popular tourist destination. The islands were featured in the novel Papillon, by Henri Charrière. He was imprisoned here for 9 years. Joseph Conrad's short story An Anarchist is largely set in the Îles du Salut.

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