Cayenne (/keɪˈɛn/; French pronunciation: ​[kajɛn]) is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "fert aurum industria" which means "work brings wealth".At the 2012 census, there were 121,308 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Cayenne (as defined by INSEE), 55,198 of whom lived in the city (commune) of Cayenne proper.