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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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French Guiana (Guyana) is a unique society in South America. It's the only French-speaking territory in the continent. And also, as a French territory, it is the only non-independent portion of the South American continent. This territory's main economic activity is the space exploration, which again makes it unique in the hemisphere. In other words, this mixture of unique characteristics should be a starting point for anyone wishing to understand life there.

One almost insignificant fact has changed forever the course of history in French Guiana: the territory is situated almost at the Equator, making it an ideal place for space rocket launches by the European Space Agency. These days when we talk about French Guiana, we most probably mean space launches. Today, space agencies make up to 15% of all economic activity.

The dependence of Europe from French Guiana as a space center determines its future as a dependent territory of Europe. We can be almost sure that France and EU will do all they can to preserve the status quo, i.e. to maintain the political grip upon this territory via large subsidies and economic help. The presence of French military personnel explains the political stability in French Guiana. On the other hand, trade preferences and artificially high living standards make clear why independence as a political goal hasn't found large support in French Guiana.

Speaking about living costs, they are higher than in the neighboring countries. Given the big economic and trade dependence from France, it will be more appropriate to compare prices not with the neighboring countries but with France.

For tourists who prefer a long-term staying, small apartment rentals in the capital Cayenne run around $600 per month. In Kourou where the space center is situated residential spaces are more expensive. In other towns along coast the studios can be found for less than $400 per month. Hotels per night range between $50 and $100 in Cayenne and Kourou and decrease in the other areas. Almost 90% of the territory is covered by rain forest making it difficult for people to access the interior of French Guiana. The hot and humid climate makes living a hard experience so foreigners are advised to plan their visits during the dry, by local measures, season. They should also be advised to have appropriate vaccinations before traveling.

French Guiana Profile:

• Area: 91,000 sq km
• Population: 182,333 (July 2002 est.)
• Population growth rate: 2.57% (2002 est.)
• Net migration rate: 8.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
• Life expectancy at birth: 76.49 years
• Ethnic groups:
  • black or mulatto 66%
  • white 12%
  • East Indian
  • Chinese
  • Amerindian 12%
  • other 10%
• GDP per capita: purchasing power parity $6,000 (1998 est.)
• Main trading partners: France, US.

(Source: CIA - The World Factbook 2002)

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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of French Guiana.