France is preparing to make a serious decision, of historical significance, to stop the uncontrolled migratory flow towards the Mayotte archipelago, the 101st department of the republic, in the Indian Ocean, which is the poorest and has been in an explosive social situation for some time. years.
As soon as he got off the plane that had taken him from Paris, on the same airport runway, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, gave the news that many on the islands were waiting for. At the initiative of President Emmanuel Macron, a change will be made to the French Constitution – which dates back to 1958 – to abolish the right to land in Mayotte. Goodbye to the historic ius soli.
It will no longer be enough to have been born there to automatically obtain French nationality. It will be necessary for one of the parents to be French. “It is an extremely strong, clear, radical measure, which will obviously be limited to the Mayotte archipelago,” said Darmanin.
The differentiated immigration treatment for a part of the territory is a very bold and controversial change. Despite the minister’s words, critics fear that it will open the way to more widespread restrictions. What is going to happen in Mayotte – because it is quite certain that the Parliament in Paris will approve the constitutional amendment – ??would be the equivalent of establishing a different immigration rule for the Canary Islands.
Macron has dared to take this step in the face of the deterioration of public order in Mayotte, subject to continuous protests and road closures, and with a high crime rate. Essential services on the islands, which also suffer from a serious shortage of drinking water, are overwhelmed.
The drama of Mayotte is part of the hangover of colonization. France took over the territory in 1841, after purchasing it from the local sultan. Then the French empire incorporated the neighboring Comoros islands. In 1974, under the auspices of the UN, a self-determination referendum was held. All the islands opted for independence by an overwhelming majority, except Mayotte, where 63% of its inhabitants wanted to remain in France. Another consultation confirmed it in 1976. In 2009, again a referendum decided that Mayotte would become an overseas department, with equal rights to the rest, such as Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana.
The fact that Mayotte is 100% France has made it a magnet that attracts the inhabitants of neighboring Comoros and, for some time now, also irregular immigrants from Tanzania and other East African countries. Although Mayotte is very poor, its per capita income of 9,300 euros is eight times that of the Comoros and twenty times that of Madagascar. That explains this unstoppable exodus, often in canoes, the traditional kwassa-kwassa. It is not even known what real population lives in Mayotte. In its 376 square kilometers (like the island of La Gomera), there are around 310,000 legal inhabitants and around 150,000 irregular inhabitants.
In addition to eliminating the right to land, the recent new immigration law that was approved in December means greatly extending the deadlines for family reunification for those who are already on the islands.
Leaders of the right and the extreme right welcomed the decision to suppress ius soli in Mayotte, the law that still applies in countries that grew thanks to immigration, such as the United States. Conservatives and extreme right-wingers regretted that the measure came so late. Leaders of the radical left and the greens warned that there will be “a historic rupture” and a “demolition of our values”, in line with what the extreme right has been demanding for years, which paves the way for it to reach the can.