French Guiana Homicides Reach 45 in 2026 as Prefect Orders Weapons Checks
FRENCH GUIANA · SECURITY
Key Facts
- —Killings this year French Guiana has recorded 45 homicides since 1 January 2026, already above the 43 of all 2025 (prefecture count, 28 September 2026).
- —Guns seized Police and gendarmes have seized 370 firearms so far in 2026, against about 300 at the same point in 2025 (state services, via France-Guyane).
- —New sanctions The prefect has started procedures to bar two party organisers and venues from holding events for three months after a shooting on 6 September 2026.
- —Main pattern More than half of the killings in the territory are settlings of scores between criminals, according to the authorities (28 September 2026).
- —Longer trend Homicides fell from 53 in 2024 to 43 in 2025, and armed robberies dropped 29% (prefecture 2025 security review, February 2026).
French Guiana homicides have passed last year’s total. The prefect is answering with more weapons checks and bans on two event venues.
French Guiana has recorded 45 homicides so far in 2026, more than in all of 2025. The prefect, the French state’s top official there, wants more firearms seized and has moved to ban two event venues.
What the Prefect Announced
French Guiana is an overseas department of France on the northeast coast of South America, between Brazil and Suriname. Prefect Antoine Poussier spoke to reporters on 28 September 2026, the newspaper France-Guyane reported.
He said he has asked for more police and gendarmerie checks, above all to find firearms. Security forces have seized 370 guns since January, against about 300 at the same point last year.
“We want to make the circulation of weapons as difficult as possible,” Poussier said. “It is firearms that turn crime in French Guiana into very violent crime”.
Two Venues Face Three-Month Bans
The prefect also wants to use administrative sanctions more often, meaning penalties imposed by the state without a court trial. He has opened a procedure to bar the venue Le Diamant from hosting events for three months.
A second procedure would bar La Soyana, the organiser of a party on 6 September, from organising events for three months. The prefecture’s formal order had not yet been published on 29 September.
The sanctions follow a shooting at that party in the Zone Collery district of Cayenne, the capital. Four men aged 20 to 30 were shot at about 4:40 a.m., mostly in the legs, and survived.
Two men have since been placed in pre-trial detention. La Soyana said it “deplores the facts” and sent its thoughts to the wounded.
A Month of Deadly Shootings
On 4 September Anderson Marcellus, a 14-year-old handball fan, was shot dead in the Eau-Lisette housing estate in Cayenne. His family and a citizens’ group called a silent march in his memory on 16 September.
Early on 23 September a woman of about 50 was shot dead in Kourou, home of Europe’s space centre. Gendarmes arrested a Brazilian suspect, reportedly her former partner, later that morning.
The same afternoon, gunmen killed the popular singer Badbay Mono, whose real name was Christopher Robinson, outside a family home in Cayenne. The prefect gave no details on that case, and police have not named a suspect.
The latest killing came on 25 September on the Oyapock, the river that forms the border with Brazil.
Guns and Organised Crime
More than half of the killings are settlings of scores between criminals, according to the authorities. In 2025, nearly two thirds were such settlings of scores, tied to illegal gold mining or control of territory.
“Police and gendarmes share the feeling that some of these crimes and settlings of scores are linked to Brazilian factions,” Poussier said. In Brazil, factions are organised criminal gangs, several of which began inside prisons.
In late 2024 the gendarmerie counted nearly 400 people loyal to such factions in French Guiana. Most belonged to Comando Vermelho, from Rio de Janeiro, or Família Terror do Amapá, from the neighbouring Brazilian state.
What Has Been Improving
The rise follows a calmer year. In 2025 homicides fell to 43 from 53, and armed robberies dropped 29% to 593, the prefecture said in February.
Total recorded crime fell 4.6% in 2025, to 19,918 offences. Gun seizures, however, slipped from 528 in 2024 to 482 in 2025.
The faster pace of seizures this year reverses that trend.
Even in the better year, homicide rates in French Guiana stayed close to ten times the French national average. The territory’s worst recent year was 2023, with about 60 killings.
Local Leaders Call for Calm
The Territorial Collectivity of French Guiana (CTG), the elected local government, said on 24 September that “no violence must ever become ordinary”. It called for calm and described security as a shared responsibility.
The citizens’ group Tròp Violans, which organised the march for Anderson Marcellus, spoke of a general weariness with violence. “We cannot accept that a young person can die under bullets in his neighbourhood,” it wrote.
What It Means for Residents and Visitors
For residents, the practical change is more frequent police checks and a harder line on events where guns appear. Organisers of parties and concerts now face the risk of a temporary ban.
Most of the violence is concentrated in disputes between criminal groups, not in attacks on visitors. The real test will be whether seizures and sanctions bring the count back toward last year’s lower level.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many homicides has French Guiana recorded in 2026?
The prefecture counted 45 homicides between 1 January and late September 2026. That is already more than the 43 recorded in all of 2025.
What is the prefect of French Guiana doing about gun violence?
Prefect Antoine Poussier has ordered more checks to find firearms, and 370 have been seized so far in 2026. He has also opened procedures to ban two event organisers and venues for three months after a shooting.
Who is behind the violence in French Guiana?
The authorities say more than half of killings are settlings of scores between criminals. The prefect said police and gendarmes suspect links to Brazilian criminal factions in some cases.
Sources: France-Guyane · France-Guyane · France-Guyane · France-Guyane · France-Guyane · France-Guyane · France-Guyane · France-Guyane
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