Conflicts and identities in the production of urban space in the Pan-Amazon region

The socio-spatial configuration of the European rocket launch base in Kourou a city in French Guiana on the Pan-Amazon continent is marked by the coexistence of differences creating a controversial and often contentious coexistence. In this context the spatialities and temporalities of Kourou's ethnic groups are appropriated by the representations and symbologies rooted in the collective memory that provides a concrete-referential element for apprehending the sense of identity: the territory. On the other hand French universalism seeks through cultural and linguistic assimilation to impose rules and habits on everyday life in the city.