Description of the thesis topic

**Geography and Sociology of Cocaine Trafficking from French Guiana**

Cocaine trafficking from French Guiana, which is mainly a transit zone for flows from Andean production areas, has seen a significant increase over the past decade, now accounting for 15 to 20% of cocaine entering mainland France (OFAST, 2020). The trafficking employs complex methods, including air (freight, smugglers, postal shipments) and maritime (containerized trafficking, still under-researched) vectors, which supply various networks of traffickers across the Atlantic at both local and national scales (Weinberger, Gandilhon, 2016; Weinberger, 2020). However, many aspects of this trafficking remain poorly understood, such as its roots in parts of Guyanese society, the role of external actors, or the areas in mainland France it supplies and their specific characteristics. To address these gaps, the GUYACOKE project aims to analyze the geography of cocaine trafficking from French Guiana by studying the various actors and transportation methods, as well as understanding the sociology of this trade, focusing particularly on the smugglers and their connections to the rest of Guyanese society.

This project seeks to provide a better understanding of this still poorly understood phenomenon, demonstrating how it draws its social, geographical, political, and cultural specifics from the context of French Guiana. As is known, French Guiana is a French and European territory located in South America, relatively close (2,500 km) to the Andean cocaine-producing countries and caught between the influence of Surinamese drug trafficking to the west and the rise of new Brazilian actors to the east. These specificities, combined with a tense social climate (IEDOM, 2019), have been the backdrop for the growth and structuring of a "Guyanese cocaine route" over the past decade (Karam, 2019).

The project is based on the present doctoral contract, which aims to propose a sociological and geographical approach to the subject using existing sources, particularly those from internal security and judicial institutions, and complementing them with new elements, including field research. This new perspective will provide a better understanding of the reality of the phenomenon, potentially leading to more effective strategies to combat trafficking and cocaine addiction.

**Thesis Objectives**
The cocaine trafficking system in French Guiana is complex, and this complexity is reflected in the departure zones in Guiana, the vectors used, the actors involved, and its distribution in destination zones. Faced with this dense and branched universe, the thesis will aim to shed light on the organization of these air and maritime flows (Objective 1), which result from a socio-geographical situation in Guiana conducive to trafficking, especially due to Guiana's integration into the European Union and the permeability of its borders.

The thesis will then focus on the phenomenon of cocaine smugglers (or mules), studying departure and arrival areas and various transport methods (convoys of smugglers, collective taxis, flights, trains, highways, etc.). It will map the geography of this particular trafficking method (Objective 2), which has reached an impressive level between 2022 and 2024. In doing so, the PhD candidate will analyze the distribution of arrival zones for smugglers, questioning the traffickers' preference for secondary cities in mainland France (OFAST, 2020; OFDT 2023). Is there a correlation between the settlement areas of Guianese in mainland France and the smugglers' destinations? Are secondary cities targeted to flood new markets, or does this Guianese trafficking aggregate into pre-existing markets? Or both?

The guiding thread of the first two objectives will be to explore to what extent the rise of the Guianese route is transforming the French cocaine market and its role in the geography of cocaine trafficking in France.

The core of the project will focus on conducting a sociological and geographical study of the profiles of these smugglers (Objective 3), using fieldwork and the analysis of localized life stories, building on the work of sociologist G. Gadio but based on a larger sample to provide a comprehensive picture of the actors involved in this trafficking. This part of the research will contribute to theoretical advances in the geography of illicit activities in general and drug trafficking in particular.

As a corollary, the thesis will seek to understand the geographical, social, and cultural dimensions of cocaine trafficking within the communities of western Guiana (Objective 4), particularly the Bushinengue communities (Gadio, Lamouroux, 2019). This part of the research can be framed around two complementary questions: the first concerns the role of these communities in the trafficking (central or peripheral?) and its evolution, while the second explores the economic importance of this trafficking for these communities.

Objectives 3 and 4 are thus more focused on the point of origin, French Guiana, examining the impact of the trafficking on this French overseas department, and particularly on the communities inhabiting its western regions.

**Methods and Scientific Approach**
The thesis will employ a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to conduct precise analyses of phenomena related to cocaine trafficking through French Guiana.

For the quantitative aspect, official sources will be used to examine known routes and volumes to date. These sources will be supplemented with field surveys and other data, such as regional press analysis or information from court proceedings, to provide a broader view where possible. All available data will be represented in maps, notably identifying the geography of distribution in mainland France—a geographical approach that has been underutilized in scientific research on drug trafficking (Chouvy, 2022).

The majority of the project, however, will rely on qualitative data, which is the norm for studying clandestine phenomena that escape official statistics. To gather this information, the PhD student will target various actors in French Guiana and mainland France, using a sociological and geographical approach and conducting open or semi-structured interviews (using a standardized questionnaire). Observational research with note-taking will also be employed in specific locations (prisons, airports, courts, etc.). Whenever possible, and if security conditions are met, the project will also aim to observe trafficking locations: sensitive neighborhoods, "obias" sites, airports, control points in Guiana, and highways in mainland France where smugglers pass. This aspect will be coordinated with security forces or well-known contacts to ensure the necessary conditions for its completion.

All collected data will be anonymized and securely stored throughout the project. Data from these approaches will also undergo GIS (Geographic Information System) processing for spatial analysis.

The first group of actors to be approached are cocaine smugglers—a figure that has been little explored in scientific literature (Bourgeteau, 2005; OEDT, 2012; Robinson, 2014; Bonnefoy-Cudraz, 2016). They will be studied through associations (such as the Kairos association, led by sociologist G. Gadio, the Akati'j association, Ti'kaz, or Apameg) and the prisons of Fresnes, Fleury-Mérogis, and the Remire-Montjoly penitentiary (in Guiana). Contacts have already been made with the Interregional Directorate of Penitentiary Services of Paris as part of previous research.

The second group includes internal security forces—customs, police, and gendarmerie—approached through periods of observation and interviews during occasional collaborations (a day, half-day). Contacts will be made with OFAST, the Border Police (PAF), and customs services, among others. The PIRALAD program will be a considerable asset in obtaining necessary authorizations.

The third group consists of justice actors (lawyers, clerks, judges, etc.), who possess particularly precise and up-to-date knowledge of the phenomenon. Interviews with these individuals will be based on prepared questions, and the researcher will also attend trials or immediate hearings (accelerated judgments), particularly in the courts of French Guiana and Créteil (where smugglers arrested at Orly airport are tried). Regular attendance at these trials will provide a significant amount of precise and rare data; these trials concern not only arrested smugglers but also traffickers (organizers) who may hold other roles within the network. To a lesser extent, some courts in secondary cities, where Guianese cocaine networks are regularly dismantled and prosecuted, will also be visited.

The collected data on smugglers will allow the establishment of statistics on the sociological profiles and geographical paths of smugglers, as well as the operational methods of the various networks (quantity and format of cocaine transported, logistical organization of the journey, scale of the network involved, etc.). These data (collected over three years of research) will also be compared with current and past statistics from other sources.

The data will also undergo cartographic processing (GIS) to establish a map of smuggler routes, locating and ranking cities affected by these new hubs of cocaine resale in mainland France. In addition to the data from the research itself, the geographic database to be compiled will include press sources that report on the dismantling of Guianese networks in mainland France. Through this multiscale analysis, the project will highlight both local strategic points and Guiana's place in drug trafficking at the regional, national, and European levels. The resulting databases will be shared at the end of the project with various government services, including the Ministries of the Interior, Justice, and Finance (for customs services).

Work Context

Contract offered as part of the GUYACOKE project, financed by the PIRALAD program of the Mission Interministérielle de Lutte contre les Drogues et les Conduites Addictives - MILDECA, located at 69 rue de Varenne 75007 Paris, a French organization under the authority of the Prime Minister.

Constraints and risks

Frequent field trips to French Guiana and mainland France
Working in partnership with internal security forces (police, customs, prison administration)
Contact with convicts and prisoners