CARNIVAL OF SAINT-LAURENT DU MARONI is officially launched. Since yesterday, Sunday January 11, with the arrival and crowning of the King of the Carnaval de l’Ouest, the town has been living to the rhythm of the 2026 edition, under the theme “Haut en couleurs”. Until February 18, 2026, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni will be one of the major centers of the Guiana Carnival, alongside Cayenne and Kourou, with a dense, popular program deeply rooted in local history.
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, a city of heritage and living memory
Located on the banks of the Maroni River, on the border with Suriname, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni occupies a singular place in Guyana’s cultural landscape. Labelled Town of Art and History, the town has a complex history, marked by its penitentiary past and a cultural diversity shaped by migration.
Founded in 1857, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni became the administrative center of Guiana’s penal colony in 1880 with the establishment of the Transportation Camp. Today, it has been converted into the Centre d’Interprétation de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (Architecture and Heritage Interpretation Centre). This major site, listed as a historic monument, still structures the city’s urban and symbolic identity.
The penal colony left a lasting demographic imprint: African, European, Indian, Chinese and Amerindian populations all contributed to forging a plural society. This diversity is fully reflected in local carnival practices, which combine Creole heritages, popular traditions and contemporary expressions.
Carnival in French Guiana: a long-standing social and deeply symbolic tradition
The CARNIVAL OF SAINT-LAURENT DU MARONI is part of the wider French Guiana’s Carnival, considered to be one of the longest in the world. It traditionally runs from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday, over six weeks of continuous festivities.
Beyond the festive aspect, the Guyanese carnival is a total social event. Heir to European traditions transformed by enslaved and then emancipated populations, over time it became a space for freedom, social satire and role reversal. Hierarchies are erased, bodies speak, masks are liberated.
Emblematic figures at the heart of Carnival
Impossible to mention the CARNIVAL OF SAINT-LAURENT DU MARONI without mentioning its mythical characters.
- – The Touloulou a fully masked female figure, embodies anonymity, elegance and emancipation. In masked balls, she wields a unique power: that of inviting men to dance, symbolically overturning social codes.
- – The Jé Farin, dressed in white and covered in flour, it harks back to the rural traditions and popular roots of carnival. Very much in evidence at Mardi Gras, it has been making a strong comeback in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni for several years now.
- – The King Vaval an ephemeral sovereign, reigns over the entire carnival period before being symbolically “put to death” on Ash Wednesday, bringing the festive cycle to a close.
Around them gravitate other strong figures: Diables rouges, Mariages burlesques, Nèg Marrons, Tololos, each carrying a symbolic charge linked to history, resistance and transgression.
2026 edition: the carnival is underway
The 2026 edition of the CARNIVAL OF SAINT-LAURENT DU MARONI is well and truly underway.
Yesterday, Sunday January 11, the town officially opened the season with the arrival and crowning of the King of Carnaval de l’Ouest, between 4pm and 7pm at La Roche Bleue, a founding moment that marks Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni’s entry into carnival time.
Since then, events, balls, parades, and cavalcades have been a regular feature of local life, and the program is set to intensify right up to the Jours Gras in February.
Complete official program - Carnival 2026
A structuring event for tourism and the identity of West Guiana
The CARNIVAL OF SAINT-LAURENT DU MARONI plays a central role in attracting tourists to Western Guyana. Accommodation, catering, river transport, crafts and local commerce all benefit directly from this busy period.
Beyond the festivities, carnival acts as a cultural a tool for cultural transmission a vector of identity and a lever of heritage enhancement for a city too often reduced to its prison past.
A carnival in motion, a city in celebration
The 2026 edition of the CARNIVAL OF SAINT-LAURENT DU MARONI is already well underway. Until Ash Wednesday, the town will continue to vibrate to the sound of drums, brass and dance steps, between popular traditions, contemporary expressions and intergenerational transmission.
The CARNIVAL OF SAINT-LAURENT DU MARONI is more than just a festive event: it’s a living memory, a living culture and a collective time deeply rooted in French Guiana‘s history.
Yes, the Saint-Laurent du Maroni Carnival 2026 is underway: it was officially launched with the arrival and crowning of the King of the Western Carnival, on Sunday January 11 at La Roche Bleue. The program continues until February 18, 2026.
Highlights include the Rencontre de l’Ouest (January 23), the Grande Parade de l’Ouest (February 1), and Jours Gras: Monday, February 16, Tuesday, February 17 (Jé Farin / Diables rouges) and Wednesday, February 18 (closing vide).
The major events of the Saint-Laurent du Maroni Carnival take place at La Roche Bleue, downtown (cavalcades), at Camp de la Transportation (parades/evenings), at the market (DJ entertainment), and at Gaby Place – Avenue Christophe Colomb (carnival evenings).
