It is common to know that Brazilians reside in other countries in the world, but there are records that in one “country” in the world, Brazilian immigrants can make up 30% of its population.
This expressive number has an explanation: the location is the French Guiana, which borders Amapá.
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Due to its proximity to Brazil, the migratory flow of people has increased over the years in this border region. According to Itamaraty, in 2022, 91.5 thousand Brazilians resided in French territory.
Despite not being located in the Europe, French Guiana is considered an overseas department of France. This is because the territory is a French region located in South America, in the North Atlantic.
One of the reasons why French Guiana has become an attractive place for Brazilians is the euro, which is its official currency.
Brazilians “manage to earn values that they would never earn in Brazil, in roles such as bricklayers, for example”, explained Rosiane Martins, sociologist and professor at the Federal University of Alagoas.
Thus, considering that the population of French Guiana is estimated at just 301 thousand inhabitants, according to Insee, the French department responsible for demographic statistics, the number of Brazilian immigrants equivalent to 30.3% of the people in that territory today.
(Image: Wikimedia Commons/Reproduction)
To clarify this increase in Brazilians in this French territory, BBC Brasil collected the numbers of Brazilian immigrants over the last four years.
The data comes from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and shows how the Brazilian community is progressively settling in French Guiana.
Typically, Brazilian immigrants who reside there are men from nearby states, such as Amapá, Pará and Maranhão, pointed out researcher Rosiane Martins.
To try to control the entry of illegal Brazilian immigrants, the France requires a tourist visa that allows temporary access. Even so, people cross the border via sea routes, crossing by boat.
This way, they avoid paying a fee of 175 euros and presenting a visa, which are requirements to cross the border bridge between Brazil and French Guiana by car.
In an interview with the BBC, Brazilian Vaneza Ferreira explained that the Portuguese language is already present everywhere in French Guiana.
The Brazilian, born in Santa Helena, Maranhão, has lived in the French region for 24 years and already considers herself “French-Guyanese-Brazilian”.
