Lost in French Guiana Trivia Quiz

Answer: Suriname

French Guiana's official name is Guiana, or Guyane to give it its French name. It is situated in the northeastern part of South America, sandwiched between Brazil and Suriname, which was formerly known as Dutch Guiana. It has a coastline on the North Atlantic. Early attempts at colonisation by France were dogged by failure and the deaths of many settlers, but they did eventually establish a presence. The country was given the status of an overseas region of France in 1946.

The photo shows the flag of Suriname in the outline shape of the country itself.

Answer: Twenty-two

The two arrondissements are Cayenne, with fourteen communes, and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, consisting of eight communes. The politics of French Guiana are predominantly socialist, with the Guianese Socialist Party being the main force. The country's flag was unofficially adopted in 2010 and not recognised by France, whose own Tricolore remains the official flag. The French Guianese version has a green triangle on the right, representing the forests, and a gold triangle on the right, which symbolises the gold and other mineral deposits found in the country. In the centre is a red star to represent socialism.

The photo hint shows 'two little ducks', the bingo call for the number twenty-two.

Answer: Roman Catholic

Since France itself is primarily a Catholic country, it is not surprising to find that French Guiana is around 75% Catholic. The cathedral of Saint-Sauveur, in Cayenne, was built between 1825 and 1833 and designated as a cathedral in 1934.

The photo is of the Fisherman's Ring, worn by the Pope.

Answer: Leatherback turtle

The Atlantic Ocean leatherback turtles use the beaches of French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana to lay their eggs, with the nesting season being between March and August in the region. The females use their flippers to dig a nest, before laying their eggs and covering the nest with sand to hide it. Once hatched, the young dig their way out of the nest and head for the sea, running the gauntlet of predators which include crabs, lizards and seabirds. The leatherback turtle is one of the largest reptiles, with only the saltwater, Nile and Orinoco crocodiles being bigger.

The photo shows a leatherback turtle with its distinctive carapace.

Answer: Spain

The first explorer to visit the area which became known as the Guianas was Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1594. His reports prompted the interest of other European nations, and the region was settled by five different nations. Spanish Guiana was the westernmost area, and was absorbed into Venezuela in 1776. The next country was British Guiana, which became the independent country of Guyana in 1966. Guyana retains its British heritage since its favourite sport is cricket, for which it is treated as being part of the West Indies. One of its best known players was Clive Lloyd, the former West Indian captain. Dutch Guiana became independent as Suriname in 1975, and forms French Guiana's western border, as already discussed. The remaining Guiana, colonised by the Portuguese, is now part of Brazil and is known as the state of Amapá.

The photo clue is the Spanish flag.

Answer: River

The city lies on the estuary of the Cayenne river, which is only 50 kilometres in length. It was the area of the first successful settlement for the French, in 1664, after a couple of previous failures. Previous efforts had been thwarted by disease and hostility from the indigenous population. Their hold was precarious, with the Dutch, English and Portuguese also laying claim to the area. Cayenne gives its name to the red pepper known as Capsicum annuum, which is also called the Guinea spice.

The photo is of a single ripe fruit.

Answer: Île du Diable

The English name is Devil's Island, one of a group of islands which lie off the coast of French Guiana near the town of Kourou. It was just one of the prisons used by the French in the region between 1852 and 1953, with Devil's Island being primarily for political prisoners. The case of Alfred Dreyfus became widely known due to the intervention of Émile Zola. Dreyfus had been convicted of treason in 1895, and later evidence which exonerated him was deliberately suppressed. He was eventually cleared in 1906. The penal colonies of French Guiana also featured in the film 'Papillon' (1973), which starred Steve McQueen.

Mont Saint-Michel is in Normandy and Réunion is in the Indian Ocean. Basse-Terre is one of the islands of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean.

The photo shows the front of a pamphlet about the Dreyfus Affair.

Answer: Work Creates Abundance

The coat of arms displays 1643 as the year the country became part of France, with the three lilies which are the French symbol. The boat is carrying gold, which was one of the sources of wealth for the country.

Of the other options, I made up 'Gold will make us rich', and 'Unity, Freedom, Work' is the motto of Zimbabwe. Gabon has the French motto of 'Union, Travail, Justice' which is almost the same as the English version of 'Union, Work, Justice'.

There is not much to say about the photo, which just shows the coat of arms.

Answer: Ariane

Although France is the lead nation, the Ariane project is funded by most of the western European countries, including Germany, Spain and Switzerland. The building of the Space Centre began in 1965, on the instructions of the President at the time, Charles de Gaulle. It brought a huge boost to the economy of the region, and is estimated to account for about twenty-five percent of the economy. Kourou's location, close to the equator, gives a boost to rocket launches, aided by the earth's rotation, and it is on the coast, meaning that debris falls in the ocean. The Centre is also used for the launch of Russian Soyuz rockets.

The photo shows an Ariane rocket at Kourou in 1992, courtesy of NASA.

Answer: Euro

As has been mentioned in several places, French Guiana is classed as part of France, so has been using the Euro since France itself changed its currency in 2002. Prior to that date, the currency was the French franc, although specific notes were issued for the region called the French Antilles, which included Martinique and Guadeloupe, between 1961 and 1975. Bank notes specific to French Guiana were printed from 1888 and 1961.

The photo shows the symbol for the Euro in various fonts.