Gérald Darmanin and his Minister Delegate for Overseas Jean-François Carenco begin a three-day trip to Mayotte on Sunday with the priority of the fight against illegal immigration on the island, 101st French department plagued by poverty and insecurity. .
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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.
Gérald Darmanin, who held a strong speech on immigration all summer, intends to return to Mayotte on the subject, the subject of a major debate in Parliament next fall 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.
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 combined effect of a high birth rate (more than four children per woman) and the significant emigration of inhabitants from the neighboring archipelago of the Comoros.
Increase in deportations to the border
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 the Covid, 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.
A youth that is struggling to fit into working life since last year, 25,000 young people aged 15 to 29 were neither in employment, nor in studies, nor in training, according to INSEE, i.e. 36% of this age group, a share three times higher than in the rest of France (13%).
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.
Insecurity fueled by great poverty: 194,000 Mahorais, or 74% of the population, live with a standard of living below 50% of the national median, according to INSEE.
