French Guiana is an
President Rodolphe Alexandre
Rodolphe Alexandre (born 26 September 1953 in Cayenne) is a French political figure from French Guiana. The former Mayor of Cayenne, he is president of the Guiana Assembly, the deliberative assembly of French Guiana, since its establishment on 1 January 2016.
He was president of the Regional Council of French Guiana from 26 March 2010, till the Regional Council and General Council were replaced by the one body, the Guiana Assembly, on 1 January 2016.
Having completed his secondary education at Felix Eboue High School, he obtained a Master of history and geography at the University of Bordeaux III.
He joined the Guyanese Socialist Party (PSG) in 1983, when he became chief of staff in the General Council of Guyana (until 1988).
President of French Guiana Speaks in Favor of Mine Development at the Rainforest Conference
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, attended the Alliance for Rainforests conference in New York (the “Conference”) with a delegation from French Guiana, including the President of French Guiana, Rodolphe Alexandre. The conference was held in coordination with the United Nations Climate Action Summit held on September 23
In his speech at the Conference, President Rodolphe Alexandre supported France’s international call to action on the “preservation of the Amazon as a true natural heritage of humanity” and emphasized that the international community remain open to the prospect of economic development, in parallel with environmental responsibility. He also highlighted the dangers of illegal gold mining in French Guiana, stating: “Our territory is diseased by illegal gold mining. We must roll back those that use mercury, which attacks indigenous peoples and violate the sovereignty of the territory”. He also acknowledged President Emmanuel Macron’s adverse mention of the Montagne d’Or gold project, while calling for the forthcoming revision and debate of the French Mining Code to be “genuinely open”, saying that mining could be “responsible, transposable, transparent” and respectful of the environment and as well as of European standards.
Rodolphe Alexandre was interviewed the next day by radio station “Guyane La 1ère” and was asked to clarify his statement at the Conference in respect of the Montagne d’Or gold project, which could have been construed as critical towards the project. Rodolphe Alexandre unequivocally commented:
“I would say that, as usual, people are taking advantage of one sentence in order to dismiss an entire speech that was given before 18 heads of state, including the most important heads of state of Europe and Africa”…
“… I am in support of respectful mining, mining that touches the environment. What was the aim of this speech? Its aim was to tell the people of French Guiana that there must be a balance, that there must be cohesion between sustainable development and protection of the forest and of biodiversity.”
This is the current latest news of French Guiana President Rodolphe Alexandre.
