The Minister Delegate for Overseas Territories Marie Guévenoux, visiting Mayotte, requested on Tuesday
“the lifting of the roadblocks”
which are still partly paralyzing the archipelago, faced with an explosive migration and security situation.
Despite a letter sent by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin in which he committed in writing to several announcements made during his previous trip to the island, on February 11, members of collectives having erected roadblocks to protest against immigration and insecurity refuse to lift them.
“I very clearly regret the fact that a certain number of individuals continue to man the roadblocks. We must be very clear about the fact that these dams are harming the situation in Mayotte, they are harming the people of Mahor
,” declared Guévenoux as he left the prefecture, after a steering committee of state services.
Security situation on the island
According to her, these roadblocks
“harm security”,
because the police
“cannot act as much as they would like on delinquency, on immigration”
.
“To regain the ground, we must remove the roadblocks,”
she added, also mentioning the problems with the health and food supply of the Mahorais caused by the situation.
Asked about the establishment of a state of emergency in Mayotte, a new demand from the roadblockers, she estimated that
“it would not have much effect”
on the situation.
Mayotte has been paralyzed for more than a month by roadblocks initially installed by citizen groups protesting against the security situation on the island, plagued by recurring violence by gangs of young people, and against illegal immigration mainly from Neighboring Comoros.
During their trip to the island on February 11, Marie Guévenoux and Gérald Darmanin responded to some of the demands of these collectives, announcing in particular the coming end of land rights on the island and that of territorialized residence permits.
Despite a letter sent a few days later to the collectives, the blockades did not stop, angering many Mahorais unable to travel around the island.