At the heart of the region

The space sector accounts for just over 12% of French Guiana’s GDP. According to the 2019 INSEE survey, nearly 4,500 jobs are linked to the space sector, representing one in six in the private sector. Today, companies at the spaceport employ 1,600 permanent staff, 80% of whom are local residents. The sector accounts for 36% of investment in the region and 13% of tax revenue (INSEE 2019). 

The spaceport’s tourist attractions (launches, tours of the facilities and savannah areas, Guyaspace Expérience) draw around 50,000 people a year, a large proportion of whom are visitors from outside the region.

As the space sector’s momentum has a knock-on effect on the economy as a whole, its current opening up to new players in the sector is helping to further boost the region’s profile and appeal.

The shared history between CNES and French Guiana that has been unfolding for over 60 years is also a human story. CNES is committed not only to keeping the memory alive, but also to enriching the region’s legacy on a daily basis, together with the people of French Guiana.

At Guyaspace Expérience, a museum exhibition developed together with associations representing the families displaced from Kourou and Sinnamary tells the story of the removal and rehousing of 219 families. Today, CNES continues to support these families by contributing, for example, to the renovation of the Cité du Stade in Kourou, where some of those whose land was expropriated now live, and the upgrading of the Mélanie Road, which provides access to agricultural plots.

On the Îles du Salut [Salvation Islands], CNES strives to maintain and promote the natural and historical heritage. The aim is to protect these fragile areas, to guarantee the supply of water and electricity, and to ensure safe access to the beaches and forests, as well as to places of historical significance: the ruins and museum of the penal colony, the hospital and chapel on Île Royale. Though CNES owns the islands, it does not own all the buildings and does not act alone. The development plans are discussed with the various partners: the French government, the towns of Cayenne and Kourou, the CACL (the inter-communal authority covering Cayenne, Macouria, Matoury, Montsinéry-Tonnégrande, Rémire-Montjoly and Roura) and the Conservatoire du littoral.