and other strangers between May 5th and 11th. These people crossed the Marowijne River to enter French Guiana but were turned back because they did not have a visa and a residence permit. The French border police are also keeping a close eye on air traffic from Suriname. They reportedly beefed up surveillance at the airstrips about two weeks ago. In the past couple of days 252 travellers were subjected to a strict screening. 7 of them did not have the necessary travel documents and one of them was wanted by the French authorities for his involvement in illegal activities on French soil. All of these 8 people were arrested.

Paris reportedly made a huge budget available to finance the border security of French Guiana in response to the large scale transborder crime from Suriname and Brazil. Drug trafficking from Suriname to Europe via French Guiana has increased drastically and cocaine has flooded the European market. From May 5th until May 11th the French border police deployed 148 police officers and inspected 623 canoes. 2,655 people were checked thoroughly in that period. Smugglers are reportedly opting for southern border crossings but are also facing obstacles there due to the fact that river patrols have also been beefed up. As a result of the increased border security Surinamese farmers can't get their products on the French market. The price of local products such as bananas has therefore plummeted on the local market.