Remire-Montjoly (; often unofficially spelled Rémire-Montjoly; ) is a commune of

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

, an

overseas region The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as " metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the s ...

and department of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

located on the northeast coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. Remire-Montjoly is a suburb of

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

, the capital ''

préfecture In France, a prefecture (, ) may be: * the , the commune in which the administration of a department is located; * the , the commune in which the administration of a region is located; * the jurisdiction of a prefecture; * the official residence ...

'' and largest city of French Guiana. It is located to the south-east of Cayenne. Residential districts are located along some of the best beaches in the Cayenne area. Cayenne and French Guiana's main seaport, the port of

Dégrad des Cannes Dégrad des Cannes () is the main seaport for the French Overseas department of French Guiana, situated in the northern edge of South America and opening into the Caribbean. The seaport is located on the estuary of the Mahury River. Nearly all ...

, is located in the commune of Remire-Montjoly, on the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

of the river

Mahury The Mahury is an extended estuary of French Guiana southeast of Cayenne. It reaches inland from the Atlantic Ocean, where it becomes known as the Oyak Ordu Yardımlaşma Kurumu (OYAK) (English language, English: ''Military Solidarity Institut ...

. Almost all of French Guiana's imports and exports pass through the port of Dégrad des Cannes.

History

The name of the town Remire, formerly Armire, is of

Galibi The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages o ...

origin. The town was founded in October 1652 by missionaires. In 1656, Dutch Jews who had fled from

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

settled in Remire and built a sugar factory. Most of them left for

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

when the French retook the area. In 1666, the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

settled in the town, and started a sugar plantation. In 1765, the possessions of the Jesuits were ceased, and Remira became a tiny village in the shadow of Cayenne once more. In 1879, Remire was elevated to a community with its own mayor. After the eruption of

Mount Pelée Mount Pelée or Mont Pelée ( ; , ; ), meaning "bald mountain" or "peeled mountain" in French, is an active volcano at the northern end of Martinique, an island and French overseas department in the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc of the Caribbean ...

in 1902, many people from

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

settled in the town. The commune was originally called Remire, but on 27 March 1969 the name was officially changed to Remire-Montjoly to reflect the development of Montjoly, one of the two settlements located within the commune. With urban expansion, the settlements of Remire and Montjoly have fused with Cayenne into a single urban area, however Remire-Montjoly remains a commune that is administered separately from the commune of Cayenne.

Population

Fort Diamant

Fort Diamant is a

coastal battery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

built in 1848 to protect Cayenne and the colony. The fort was built from basalt rubble and bricks and consists of three parts in a V-shape. The walls are two metres thick. Fort Diamant was classified as a historic monument in 1980, and renovated.

Nature

Salines de Montjoly Salines de Montjoly is a former saltworks and protected area in the commune of Remire-Montjoly in French Guiana, France. It is located in the urban area on the Atlantic Ocean, and contains a multitude of biomes. The beach is used by sea turtles fo ...

is a former

saltworks A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but also oth ...

and

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in the commune. It is located in the urban area near the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, and contains a multitude of

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

s like a beach used by sea turtles for nesting, and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

which are a refuge for birds. It also contains the only publicly accessible

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

forest of French Guiana.

Sports

Remire-Montjoly is home to

ASC Rémire The Rémire Sports and Cultural Club ''(French: Association Sportive et Culturelle Remire)'', or simply known as ASC Rémire or Rémire is a Guianan football club based in Remire-Montjoly Remire-Montjoly (; often unofficially spelled Rémire-M ...

football team who play at the Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama.

Notable people

* Loïc Prévot (born 1998), sprinter

References

External links

Official site
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Remiremontjoly Communes of French Guiana