France's President Emmanuel Macron arrived in the overseas department of French Guiana on Monday for a two-day visit, to discuss poverty, crime and greater autonomy – a prickly topic between Cayenne and Paris, reports RFI.
The trip will be followed by a visit to neighbouring Brazil, where Macron will address the issue of illegal mining in the border regions.
In his first visit to the South American territory in October 2017, just months after his election, Macron was met with protesters, angry over the lack of investment in the impoverished region.
Macron was under pressure to honour the outgoing government's promises of a billion-euro emergency package.
He also promised at the time to strengthen the local police force to tackle a murder rate 10 times as high as that of mainland France, as well as tackling undocumented immigration and illegal gold mining.
However, he did not make a positive impression on the locals, who remember his response when they asked about building a new hospital: "I'm not Santa Claus."
This anger translated into electoral revenge as 60 percent of Guianans voted for far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the presidential election of 2022.