Gérald Darmanin and his Minister Delegate for Overseas Jean-François Carenco begin a three-day trip to Mayotte on Sunday with the fight against illegal immigration on the island as a priority.
This is the second overseas trip by the Minister of the Interior, since he took over the Overseas portfolio this summer, after a visit to Reunion in early July.
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After having held a strong speech on immigration all summer, Gérald Darmanin intends to return to the subject in Mayotte, the subject of a major debate in Parliament next autumn before the presentation of a bill.
The minister must in particular be presented with the new air and sea resources to fight against illegal immigration and visit the administrative detention center of Pamandzi.
A population that quadrupled between 1985 and 2017
Located in the Indian Ocean between East Africa and Madagascar, the island populated by 350,000 to 400,000 people according to the authorities, saw its population quadruple between 1985 and 2017 according to INSEE, under the effect combined with a high birth rate (more than four children per woman) and the significant emigration of inhabitants from the neighboring archipelago of the Comoros.
The government highlights its figures for deportations to the border, more than 23,000 in 2021, an increase of 78% compared to 2020, a year marked by Covid-19, and the increase in interceptions of "kwassas-kwassas “, these light motor boats used by Comorian migrants.
According to INSEE, almost half of the population of Mayotte does not have French nationality, but a third of foreigners were born in Mayotte and the average age of the inhabitants was 23 in 2017.
The island, a regular scene of clashes between gangs or with the police, also experiences high crime rates, much higher than in mainland France, with four times as many complaints filed for burglaries and physical assaults much more frequent.
