Politics of French Guiana the prefect is Éric Spitz. The President of the general council is Alain Tien-Liong and the President of the Regional Council is Rodolphe Alexandre. Politics in French Guiana are dominated by the Guianese Socialist Party, which has a close association with the Socialist Party in mainland France. 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 is formed by the Maroni River, which flows through rain forest and is difficult for the Gendarmerie and the French Foreign Legion to patrol. There have
Suriname (Kingdom of the Netherlands) the constituent country have always been officially known as Surinam or Suriname, in both Dutch and English, the colony was often unofficially and semi-officially referred to as Dutch Guiana (Dutch: "Nederlands Guiana") in the 19th and 20th century, in an analogy to British Guiana and French Guiana. Using this term for Suriname is problematic, however, as historically Suriname was only one of many Dutch colonies in the Guianas, others being Berbice, Essequibo, Demerara, and Pomeroon, which after being taken over by the United Kingdom in 1814 were united into British Guiana in 1831. Before 1814, the term Dutch Guiana did