French Guiana is a country of pristine rainforests that has both the advantages and disadvantages of being colonized by France. It's the wealthiest region of this South American corner, meaning that everyone from Brazil to Suriname tries to cross its borders in the hope of high-paying jobs and decent unemployment benefits.
Yet the country lacks the smiling simplicity of its struggling neighbors. On one hand there is plenty of dramatic history and some of the most diverse plant and animal life in the world; on the other, it's heart seems held by a cold European rule uninterested in seeing the Guianese people flourish.