The citizen collectives of Mayotte announced on Wednesday the maintenance for
“a few more days”
of the roadblocks which are paralyzing the poorest department in France, despite the written commitments received from the government to act against insecurity and uncontrolled immigration on the island. .
First
“victim”
of this crisis, the prefect of Mayotte, Thierry Suchet, replaced Wednesday in the Council of Ministers by François-Xavier Bieuville, current sub-prefect of Dunkirk, the region of the Minister of the Interior.
A replacement immediately interpreted locally as a dismissal.
“It was time for the prefect to be sacked, he left Mayotte in an unmanageable crisis situation.
“It was the population that had to come forward
,” rejoiced Abdou Badirou, a representative of the
“Forces vives”
, a coalition of citizen collectives, to AFP.
Faced with an increasingly explosive situation in Mayotte, Gérald Darmanin, accompanied by the Minister Delegate for Overseas Territories Marie Guévenoux, tried on Sunday during a lightning visit to the island to restore calm, with in his bag strong announcements, including the end of land law.
But the
“Forces vives”
had set a prerequisite for the lifting of the blockades which have paralyzed the island of Grande-Terre for three weeks to protest against insecurity and uncontrolled immigration: a writing before Wednesday from the minister on his commitments.
Read alsoMayotte: the Comoros wonder about “the so-called belonging” of the island to France
Dams maintained
On Wednesday, 4 to 500 people gathered in Pamandzi, a commune located on the island of Petite-Terre, to participate in the
“congress”
of the
“Forces vives”
, a meeting where all Mahorais were invited and where the decision was to be made. continuation of the movement.
All morning, the dams were open and the barge which connects Grande-Terre to Petite-Terre was operating.
Many of the women present wore black and red clothes with yellow patterns of ylang-ylang flowers, the emblematic outfit of Zena M'Dere, leader of the "
Chatouilleuses"
movement during the Mayotte revolt against the Comoros in the 1960s.
Alternating speeches and songs, the progress of the congress was disrupted by the letter from Gérald Darmanin announcing in particular the end of the territorialized residence permit, a demand of the demonstrators.
This system, specific to Mayotte, currently prevents foreigners (mainly Comorians and Malagasy) with a local residence permit from traveling elsewhere in France.
“The dams are maintained. Even the police will not pass,” a spokesperson for the
“Forces vives”
, Abdou Badirou, initially asserted on stage
, before the announcement of the letter provoked debates between participants.
“The roadblocks will be maintained”
for at least
“a few days”
, time to analyze the mail, Safina Soula, one of the most visible representatives of the movement, finally told AFP, wearing a blue-white cowboy hat. red on the head.
“Civil-military” operation
Among the congress participants, reactions were varied.
“Decisions are taking too long, the Mahorais can't take it anymore, the insecurity is no longer tolerable.
But apart from putting in additional resources, I don't see how we can act
,” Djoumoi Ramia, an accountant in Mamoudzou, told AFP.
“Basically, I am completely in agreement with the demands, but on the way of doing things, I am more reserved. In Gérald Darmanin's mail, everything that was requested appears. At least we have a deadline, May 22
, for the presentation to the Council of Ministers of an “emergency bill
for Mayotte”
.
The text should include the end of the territorialized residence permit.
“If we don’t have a response at that time, we could re-blockade the island
,” warned Djoumoi Ramia.
Not very optimistic, Safina Soula confided her
“feeling of bitterness”
, stressing that
“the most difficult problem, which has not been resolved, remains insecurity”
in this small territory in the Indian Ocean.
However, last April, the Minister of the Interior made a point of restoring security by launching an operation called
“Wuambushu”
intended to fight against illegal immigration, unsanitary housing and delinquency.
Lasting three months initially, it extended until the end of last year.
Faced with the persistence of problems, Mr. Darmanin announced a new operation,
“Wuambushu 2”
.
It is now called
a “civil-military operation”
with the same objectives, thus confirming the failure of previous actions.