Credit: Le Parisien

Overseas

Immigration, precariousness, delinquency… Why Mayotte concentrates the crises

Since mid-January, Mayotte has been the scene of a protest movement.

The demonstrators denounce in particular illegal immigration and the very high rate of delinquency.

Portrait in maps and graphics of the archipelago.

Inès Chaïeb, Victor Alexandre and Stanislas de Livonnière

Last updated: 2024-02-17T10:55:15.661Z

The announcement was made on a Sunday morning, under the ready eye of the cameras.

On February 11, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, visiting the island of Mayotte, announced the upcoming revision of the Constitution with the aim of removing land law on the 101st French department.

Objective: to respond to the anger of the Mahorais demonstrators who, since mid-January, have been chanting from roadblock to roadblock their desire to see immigration be regulated and delinquency eradicated.

Read alsoMayotte: the dams maintained for “a few more days”, according to citizen groups

The executive's promise, denounced by the left but welcomed by the right and the far right, in reality only targets part of the problems facing the island.

Beyond immigration, Mayotte experiences a spectacular poverty rate, serious delinquency problems and even difficulties in accessing housing. 

An archipelago 8,000 km from the metropolis

The Mayotte archipelago

Geographic location

The Mayotte archipelago

Geographic location

The Mayotte archipelago

Distribution of the population on the island - Source: Insee

The island of Mayotte is located in the Indian Ocean, between Madagascar and Mozambique.

More than 8,000 kilometers separate Paris from this 374 km2 archipelago, made up of two main islands - Grande-Terre and Petite-Terre - as well as several other small islands. 

In contrast, Mayotte is only 70 kilometers from the Comorian island of Anjouan. 

The population is mainly concentrated on the east coast of Grande-Terre, in Mamoudzou and Koungou, but also in Dzaoudzi, on the Petite-Terre side.

“Historically, sugar factories and sugar cane fields were located in the east of the island, particularly in Mamoudzou or Koungou, which explains why the population was concentrated in these towns,” recalls Fahad Idaroussi Tisimanda, geographer specializing in Mayotte.

Even today, the municipalities of Mamoudzou - where the prefecture of Mayotte is based - and Koungou - which is home to the port of Longoni - are "the economic lungs of the island", says the researcher.

Chapter 1

Massive immigration

Clandestine connections between the Comoros and Mayotte are made aboard “kwassa-kwassa”.

AFP

In Mayotte, in 2017, 48% of the population was of foreign nationality, according to figures from INSEE.

This massive immigration is widely denounced by demonstrators at the roadblocks that have been in place for almost a month.

The Mayotte archipelago

Share of foreign population by municipality - Source: Insee

The Mayotte archipelago

Share of foreign population by municipality - Source: Insee

The foreign population is also mainly located in the east of the department. 

The town of Koungou is the one with the largest share of people who are not of French nationality. 

According to Fahad Idaroussi Tisimanda, the explanation is also historical.

“After the abolition of slavery, France brought people from the Comoros and Mozambique to work in the sugar plantations.

The areas east of Mayotte have remained points of contact for people from these countries,” he says.

“The areas east of Mayotte have remained points of contact for people from these countries”

Fahad Idaroussi Tisimanda, geographer

Due to its geographical proximity and its historical links with the neighboring archipelago, Mayotte attracts a large majority of Comorian immigrants.

According to the latest figures from INSEE, in 2017, 95% of immigrants present in Mayotte were from the Comoros, 4% from Mozambique and a more marginal part from East Africa.

The Cavani camp at the heart of tensions

Recently, it was the arrival of migrants from the Great Lakes region of Africa that ignited the situation.

Several hundred Rwandan, Congolese and Somali asylum seekers have been settled for several months at the Cavani stadium in Mamoudzou. 

Mamoudzou, capital city

The prefecture of Mayotte, in the northeast of the island

Mamoudzou, capital city

The prefecture of Mayotte, in the northeast of the island

Mamoudzou, capital city

The prefecture of Mayotte, in the northeast of the island

Here is a map of Mamoudzou, a town of more than 70,000 inhabitants in the northeast of the island.

Cavani is an isolated district located on the heights of the city.

The Cavani stadium is located in the heart of the eponymous district.

On January 22, the first citizen blockades emerged to demand the dismantling of the camp. 

At the end of January, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal gave the order.

Since then, “200 people have been evacuated,” says the executive, reducing the total workforce from 700 to 500 people.

On February 7, the head of government demanded an “acceleration of the dismantling” of the camp.

In the alleys of the Cavani district.

AFP

Removal of land rights

To try to stem these migratory flows, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin promised on Sunday February 11 a constitutional revision with the aim of removing land rights in Mayotte.

Statistics published by INSEE note that 45% of children born on the archipelago in 2022 had two foreign parents.

In reality, Mayotte is already an exception in France in terms of access to nationality.

Since the Asylum and Immigration law of 2018, to become French upon reaching the age of majority, a child born on the island must prove that one of their parents was in France legally for at least three months at the time of their birth.

Chapter 2

Major social challenges

In the “Talus 2” slum, the dismantling of which was announced in May 2023. AFP

Despite government announcements on immigration, citizen barriers have not been lifted.

The demonstrators denounce in particular the insecurity present on the island.

Also read “It’s an explosive cocktail”: in Mayotte, life to the rhythm of violence and roadblocks

Mayotte has been hit for several years by a phenomenon of violence between gangs of young people.

Added to this is an increase in thefts, burglaries or physical attacks to which residents are regularly subject.

“These young people often come together on a territorial scale, because they grew up together.

Gradually, they move away from the adult world: they no longer go to school, do not integrate professionally, have addictive consumption", deciphers Élise Lemercier, sociologist and author of "Mayotte, an exceptional regime" .

“There is no causal link between insecurity and immigration”

Élise Lemercier, sociologist specializing in Mayotte

Since 2012, this professor attached to the University of Rouen has been carrying out field investigations within the Mahorais courts.

“There is a shortcut which consists of establishing a link between delinquency and immigration.

During my investigations, I did not observe an over-representation of migrants in gangs of young delinquents,” she explains.

“There is no causal link between insecurity and immigration,” says the researcher. 

Very low level of training

“There are few measures in place for youth in Mayotte, particularly in terms of access to training or work-study programs,” emphasizes Élise Lemercier to explain this extreme violence.

In 2022, 73% of Mahorais did not have a qualifying diploma, compared to 28% of the population in mainland France.

77% of the population below the poverty line

Many of these young delinquents find themselves in precarious situations.

In Mayotte, 85% of people under 30 live below the poverty line.

In total, this concerns 77.3% of the population, compared to 14.1% in mainland France. 

On the lagoon island, the median standard of living is 260 euros per month, compared to 1700 euros per month in mainland France, 1660 euros per month in Reunion and 920 euros per month in Guyana (Insee).

Also read Rationing, dehydration, health risk… the lack of water becomes critical in Mayotte

Despite low incomes, the Mahorais face a high cost of living.

In addition, the island is experiencing significant water management difficulties, particularly linked to drought and the obsolescence of the networks.

In the fall, in the midst of a supply crisis, a pack of water could cost up to 7.50 euros.

“Lack of basic sanitary comfort”

The youngest French department is also experiencing difficulties in housing its residents.

According to INSEE, 39% of housing in Mayotte is “precarious”.

Even more impressive, 59% of homes do not have basic sanitary comfort.

Concretely, 56% do not have a bathtub or shower and 54% do not have a toilet inside their home.

Poor housing is partly due to the very nature of the island, according to geographer Fahad Idaroussi Tisimanda.

“Mayotte is an island of volcanic origin, very rugged and with a lot of relief.

As soon as you move away from the coast, it is very difficult to build permanent buildings,” he describes.

The Kaweni slum is considered the largest slum in France.

Abaca via Reuters

The Wuambushu plan, launched last spring by Gérald Darmanin, aimed in particular to put an end to this unsanitary housing.

Alongside the announcements on land law, the Minister of the Interior also announced the preparation of a second part of this plan.

Also read: Mayotte: in the “hell” of Kaweni, the largest slum in France

After three weeks of blockage, the citizen groups announced last Wednesday that the blockades would be maintained for “a few more days”.

Gérald Darmanin, for his part, promised that the Minister Delegate in charge of Overseas Territories, Marie Guévenoux, would have to go to Mayotte soon if the blockades were lifted.

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Writing

Inès Chaïeb and Stanislas de Livonnière 

Data

Victor Alexandre

Infographics

Victor Alexandre and Stanislas de Livonnière

Editing

Stanislas de Livonnière