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| Linking Brazil to French Guiana, a Bridge for No One | Linking Brazil to French Guiana, a Bridge for No One |
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| St.-GEORGES-DE-L’OYAPOCK, French Guiana — From the canopied entryway of the border police headquarters here, where its commander, Pascal Rudeaux, goes to smoke a cigarette and watch the tropical rain pelt down, you can see the tall concrete pillars of the bridge that was meant to connect French Guiana, an outpost of France in South America, with neighboring Brazil. But ask Commander Rudeaux what the speed limit is on the bridge that his officers guard, and he laughs and makes a Gallic frown that expresses a begrudging acceptance of life’s essential mysteries. | |
| “I don’t know, maybe 30,” he said, referring to kilometers per hour, equivalent to less than 20 miles per hour. “When they open the bridge, they will put up the signs.” | “I don’t know, maybe 30,” he said, referring to kilometers per hour, equivalent to less than 20 miles per hour. “When they open the bridge, they will put up the signs.” |
| But the speed limit today is effectively zero, as the bridge over the Oyapock River, just outside St.-Georges, a rundown town of about 4,000, never opened to pedestrians or vehicles, even though it was completed more than four years ago at a cost of about $33 million at the time. | But the speed limit today is effectively zero, as the bridge over the Oyapock River, just outside St.-Georges, a rundown town of about 4,000, never opened to pedestrians or vehicles, even though it was completed more than four years ago at a cost of about $33 million at the time. |
| The bridge, intended as a symbol of international cooperation — signs here are in both French and Portuguese — has instead become a symbol of the two countries’ inability to work together. | The bridge, intended as a symbol of international cooperation — signs here are in both French and Portuguese — has instead become a symbol of the two countries’ inability to work together. |
| “The bridge is just the visible part of the iceberg,” said Thierry Girardot, 45, a worker in the Guiana Amazonian Park, as he sat on the terrace of a restaurant called Chez Modestine, which looks out on St.-Georges’s cracked demitasse of a public square, abandoned to the sizzling heat. “It’s concrete, it’s there, it’s real, but the bridge is not the only thing necessary to cross the border.” | “The bridge is just the visible part of the iceberg,” said Thierry Girardot, 45, a worker in the Guiana Amazonian Park, as he sat on the terrace of a restaurant called Chez Modestine, which looks out on St.-Georges’s cracked demitasse of a public square, abandoned to the sizzling heat. “It’s concrete, it’s there, it’s real, but the bridge is not the only thing necessary to cross the border.” |
| The decision to build the bridge was announced in 1997 by President Jacques Chirac of France and President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil. It was meant to bring economic development to the Brazilian state of Amapá, which borders French Guiana, and to create opportunities for French and Brazilian companies. And it was to better connect French Guiana, long oriented toward Europe, to the Latin-dominated continent it inhabits and largely ignores. | The decision to build the bridge was announced in 1997 by President Jacques Chirac of France and President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil. It was meant to bring economic development to the Brazilian state of Amapá, which borders French Guiana, and to create opportunities for French and Brazilian companies. And it was to better connect French Guiana, long oriented toward Europe, to the Latin-dominated continent it inhabits and largely ignores. |
| It was also to establish a connection between Brazil and Europe. French Guiana, a former colony that was mostly used to house criminals in infamously brutal prisons, became an overseas department of France in 1946, obtaining the same status as any other French territory. | It was also to establish a connection between Brazil and Europe. French Guiana, a former colony that was mostly used to house criminals in infamously brutal prisons, became an overseas department of France in 1946, obtaining the same status as any other French territory. |
| When you cross the border into French Guiana, you are not only in France — where French is spoken, French police officers patrol the border and people elect representatives to the French Parliament — but also in the European Union. The euro is the currency, and European Union regulations on matters like food safety apply. | |
| France and Brazil agreed to split the cost of building the bridge, and the structure was completed in 2011. | France and Brazil agreed to split the cost of building the bridge, and the structure was completed in 2011. |
| On its side of the bridge, France built a border police post, to manage customs and immigration services, that already appears weather-beaten and worn. On the bridge, which is more than four football fields long, the double white line at the center of the pavement is peeling away. | On its side of the bridge, France built a border police post, to manage customs and immigration services, that already appears weather-beaten and worn. On the bridge, which is more than four football fields long, the double white line at the center of the pavement is peeling away. |
| But on the Brazilian side, things lagged. Brazil had pledged to pave the 360-mile dirt road to Macapá, the capital of Amapá State, from Oiapoque (pronounced oh-ya-POHK), the town on the Brazilian side of the bridge. But much of the highway has yet to be paved. Brazil also delayed customs and immigration facilities, completing the structures only recently. They have yet to be furnished and supplied with computers and other necessities. | |
| “We could open the bridge tomorrow if they would send personnel and if they finished the work,” said Éric Spitz, the prefect of French Guiana, during an interview in his large, wood-lined office in Cayenne, the capital, a three-hour drive from St.-Georges. | “We could open the bridge tomorrow if they would send personnel and if they finished the work,” said Éric Spitz, the prefect of French Guiana, during an interview in his large, wood-lined office in Cayenne, the capital, a three-hour drive from St.-Georges. |
| In Oiapoque, no sign marks the road that leads to the bridge. The newly completed buildings, with bright white walls and blue roofs, stand in the middle of a red dirt field. Cows and goats graze nearby. A flimsy barrier of barbed wire blocks the way, and a yellow sign in Portuguese reads: “Stop. Identify yourself.” Two dingy white dogs, stained ocher from rolling in the red dirt, sleep on the road. | In Oiapoque, no sign marks the road that leads to the bridge. The newly completed buildings, with bright white walls and blue roofs, stand in the middle of a red dirt field. Cows and goats graze nearby. A flimsy barrier of barbed wire blocks the way, and a yellow sign in Portuguese reads: “Stop. Identify yourself.” Two dingy white dogs, stained ocher from rolling in the red dirt, sleep on the road. |
| “It’s not permitted to enter,” a genial security guard said. His tiny guard shack had no electricity or running water. A sign on it read, “Smile, you’re being filmed.” But the guard, who would not give his name, said there were no cameras. “It’s just for show,” he said. | “It’s not permitted to enter,” a genial security guard said. His tiny guard shack had no electricity or running water. A sign on it read, “Smile, you’re being filmed.” But the guard, who would not give his name, said there were no cameras. “It’s just for show,” he said. |
| An impasse over vehicle insurance has contributed to the delay. France requires drivers and trucking companies to have much higher levels of coverage than Brazil demands. The two sides have not been able to resolve the issue. | An impasse over vehicle insurance has contributed to the delay. France requires drivers and trucking companies to have much higher levels of coverage than Brazil demands. The two sides have not been able to resolve the issue. |
| During a meeting with his Brazilian counterparts in October, Mr. Spitz said, he challenged them to open the bridge before the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro start in August. He said they had agreed. | During a meeting with his Brazilian counterparts in October, Mr. Spitz said, he challenged them to open the bridge before the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro start in August. He said they had agreed. |
| Many other topics that came up during bilateral talks about the bridge had nothing to do with the structure itself. They include France’s desire to export more dairy products to Brazil, and Brazil’s insistence that French Guiana do more to stop the spread of a fruit fly that threatens a Brazilian crop. | Many other topics that came up during bilateral talks about the bridge had nothing to do with the structure itself. They include France’s desire to export more dairy products to Brazil, and Brazil’s insistence that French Guiana do more to stop the spread of a fruit fly that threatens a Brazilian crop. |
| And then there is the visa issue. French citizens do not need a visa to travel to Brazil, and Brazilians do not need a visa to travel to any other part of France. But, even though French Guiana is next door, Brazilians must get a visa to go to there. (The exception is for travel to St.-Georges, which can be done with a special permit.) | |
| This rankles many Brazilians. Filip Van Den Bossche, a businessman based in Cayenne, said that a Brazilian friend had planned to visit on a vacation but had found the visa requirement too onerous. The friend bought a plane ticket to Europe instead. | This rankles many Brazilians. Filip Van Den Bossche, a businessman based in Cayenne, said that a Brazilian friend had planned to visit on a vacation but had found the visa requirement too onerous. The friend bought a plane ticket to Europe instead. |
| Mr. Spitz, the prefect, said the visa requirement was intended to deter the illegal immigration of Brazilians into French Guiana. | Mr. Spitz, the prefect, said the visa requirement was intended to deter the illegal immigration of Brazilians into French Guiana. |
| By some estimates, thousands of Brazilians are involved in illegal gold mining in French Guiana. Brazilian ships have also been accused of fishing in French Guianese waters. That colors the way many people here view their neighbors, and many in French Guiana are not eager to see a greater influx of Brazilians. | By some estimates, thousands of Brazilians are involved in illegal gold mining in French Guiana. Brazilian ships have also been accused of fishing in French Guianese waters. That colors the way many people here view their neighbors, and many in French Guiana are not eager to see a greater influx of Brazilians. |
| People here have always crossed the Oyapock River by boat, and they continue to do so. Long, narrow boats with outboard motors, known as pirogues, zip back and forth, carrying passengers. They pass directly under the bridge. | People here have always crossed the Oyapock River by boat, and they continue to do so. Long, narrow boats with outboard motors, known as pirogues, zip back and forth, carrying passengers. They pass directly under the bridge. |
| But local business owners say they need more than boat crossings. | But local business owners say they need more than boat crossings. |
| Fabiano Arouche, 28, who owns a restaurant, the Recanto Grill in Oiapoque, said that, with the Brazilian economy struggling, the area could benefit from the arrival of truck drivers and tourists that the bridge could bring. | |
| But there is also deep skepticism about the government’s ability to deliver on its promises, an attitude every bit as Brazilian as Commander Rudeaux’s existentialist moue was quintessentially French. | |
| “It’s never going to open,” said Sandra Rufino, 45, standing outside the local market on the Brazilian side and waving dismissively at the structure. “It’s only there so they could say they built a bridge.” | “It’s never going to open,” said Sandra Rufino, 45, standing outside the local market on the Brazilian side and waving dismissively at the structure. “It’s only there so they could say they built a bridge.” |
| “It’s just there for decoration,” her friend Marcileide Lozeira, 38, said. | “It’s just there for decoration,” her friend Marcileide Lozeira, 38, said. |
| Back in Cayenne, Mr. Spitz predicted that the bridge would be like the Eiffel Tower, which was considered an eyesore when it was being built but came to be embraced as a beloved national symbol. “Once the bridge opens, all the difficult years will be forgotten,” he said. | |