Around 10,000 demonstrators gathered Tuesday as part of a mass protest in Cayenne against the French government, demanding higher wages and protesting the poor quality of social services.



Dubbed “Day of the Dead,” the protests were described as “the biggest demonstration ever organized.”

French Guiana has been swept by protests and a general strike in the past week, less than a month before France holds presidential elections.

Considered an “overseas department” of France, French Guiana, was colonized by the European country in 1503. Since then, France has denied the colony the same labor and health care rights that those on the mainland enjoy.