French Guiana two senators to the French Senate. The Guianese Socialist Party dominated politics in French Guiana until 2010. A chronic issue affecting French Guiana is the influx of illegal immigrants and clandestine gold prospectors from Brazil and Suriname. The border between the department and Suriname, the Maroni River, flows through rain forest and is difficult for the Gendarmerie and the French Foreign Legion to patrol. There have been several phases launched by the French government to combat illegal gold mining in French Guiana, beginning with Operation Anaconda beginning in 2003, followed by Operation Harpie in 2008, 2009 and Operation Harpie Reinforce
Indians in French Guiana Tobago. Indians in French Guiana Indians in French Guiana are mostly descendants of Tamil indentured labourers from India who live in the French Overseas Department of French Guiana. Between 1838 and 1917 there were 19,276 Indian immigrants to French Guiana. Labour from India began to enter French Guiana beginning in 1862. By the mid-1880s, however, the British stopped shipments of Indians in response to allegations that the French were ill-treating indentured to the Indian workers under their employ. In recent years, immigrants of East Indian origin have been arriving from French Guiana's neighbouring countries such as Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad