Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.5% (FY97)
France Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname and French Guiana; territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for and consumer of South
American cocaine, Southwest Asian heroin, and European synthetics
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@French Guiana
French Guiana Introduction
Background: First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou.
French Guiana Geography
Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic
Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname