The tension does not seem ready to subside.
At least a thousand demonstrators gathered Tuesday in Mamoudzou, the capital of Mayotte, to protest "against insecurity and immigration" in a context of blockage of the island for more than two weeks, he said. -we learned from the organizers and local media.
“There are between 1,000 and 2,000 of us protesting against insecurity and immigration,” Zaïdou Bamana, a leader of the “Forces vives de Mayotte”, a movement behind the blockades paralyzing the island, said by telephone. since January 22.
Also read “It’s an explosive cocktail”: in Mayotte, life to the rhythm of violence and roadblocks
According to the Mayotte la 1re channel, "more than a thousand demonstrators gathered" on the Place de la République, in Mamoudzou, and scuffles with the police took place in front of the administrative court, where some protesters had converged.
⚡ New day of #mobilization in #Mamoudzou against insecurity and immigration
Follow the news of this day here: https://t.co/TbqSQq1U0c#CriseMayotte #Mayotte pic.twitter.com/SqO7VOCeUB
— Mayotte la 1ère (@mayottela1ere) February 6, 2024
⚡️#Protesters attempted to force access to the judicial court, access to which was blocked by the #police.
Tear gas bombs were used to repel them.
#CriseMayotte #Mayotte @DeputeeEstelle @Kamardine_M @TMohamedSoilihi @GDarmanin @GabrielAttal pic.twitter.com/5vbLcgtT9o
— Mayotte la 1ère (@mayottela1ere) February 6, 2024
For more than two weeks, the collective of “Forces vives de Mayotte” has maintained roadblocks in the four corners of the island, completely paralyzing traffic and disrupting the economic life of the poorest department in France to protest against the permanent insecurity .
A meeting was planned in the middle of the day in Mayotte between the collectives and the elected officials of the departmental council but the “Forces vives de Mayotte” said they refused to participate, wondering about “the true intentions of the elected officials”.
“Mayotte is experiencing an unbearable security crisis making life impossible (…) Solving the migration problem and its insecurity counterpart is an essential prerequisite before being able to address any other subject,” they indicated on Facebook.
Also read “Mayotte is paradise and hell”: diving into the daily life of an island on the verge of conflagration
The movement has also broadened its demands and now demands "the end of exceptional legislative measures, which lead to an unfair difference in treatment in Mayotte, and the end of territorialized stay" preventing holders of a residence permit in Mayotte from leave for mainland France, according to a press release.
Another of its demands is the dismantling of a refugee camp from Africa's Great Lakes, which has crystallized tensions around massive immigration which mainly comes from neighboring Comoros.
On Sunday, the organizers of the blockades called for “intensifying the movement” during a meeting organized in Tsingoni, in the northwest of the island.
In 2018, a previous movement to fight insecurity in Mayotte, led by an inter-union and a collective, paralyzed the island for six weeks.