Élisabeth Borne is making a short trip to Guyana from Sunday, where she will spend New Year’s Eve with the armed forces engaged in the fight against illegal gold panning. This is the third overseas trip for the Prime Minister, who visited Reunion Island in May and Mayotte at the beginning of December. She will speak on Sunday upon her arrival with the mayor of Cayenne Sandra Trochimara, then meet the president of the local authority Gabriel Serville, before going by helicopter to the village of Maripasoula, in the Amazon forest.
The French army mourned twice this year in Guyana
Élisabeth Borne, who will be accompanied by the Secretary of State for Youth and Universal Service Prisca Thévenot, will spend New Year’s Eve with the armed forces who are fighting in particular against illegal gold miners (gold prospectors), on the forward operational base of the 9th RIMa (marine infantry regiment) located in Maripasoula. The French army was bereaved twice in this territory this year during missions to combat illegal gold mining.
The head of government will also visit a site often affected in Dorlin, where the forces of the 9th RIMa operate in particular. On Monday, she will board a canoe to visit a river checkpoint. Before taking the plane back to mainland France, she will also discuss the fight against drug trafficking at Cayenne airport. Guyana is known to be a hub for supplying the metropolis with drugs, particularly cocaine.
It is from Guyana that the Prime Minister will attend Emmanuel Macron’s wishes on December 31, while the Head of State recently promised “a new course” for 2024, fueling speculation around a possible government reshuffle , or even a change of Prime Minister. Élisabeth Borne explained that she had “the feeling of duty accomplished” after the adoption of the immigration law voted by the deputies of the Republicans (OR) and those of the National Rally (RN), which provoked strong criticism on the left and fractured the majority , a quarter of Renaissance deputies not having voted for this text.