French PM addresses security, health, immigration during visit to crisis-hit Mayotte

Elisabeth Borne has visited the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte  to address a number of issues that have created considerable tension acorss the archipelago including water shortages, housing, and illegal immigration from neighboring Comoros.

France's Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne (L) applauds President of the Departmental Council of Mayotte Ben Issa Ousseni (R), on the sidelines of the signature of a financial agreement between French State and the Department at the Departemental Council of Mayotte in Mamoudzou, during her one-day visit on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, on December 8, 2023. AFP - MIGUEL MEDINA

Borne was welcomed by traditional songs and flower leis at Petite-Terre airport on Friday, accompanied by Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau and Overseas Territories Minister Philippe Vigier.

On her arrival in the capital Mamoudzou, they were greeted by around a hundred demonstrators carrying whistles who shouted "We're fed up"; and who held  banners that read, "Mayotte, paradise transformed into hell".

It's the first visit by a head of government since Manuel Valls in 2015.

Her day-long program includes a visit to a desalination plant, the distribution of drinking water, a meeting in a slum, and discussions with the law enforcement officers involved in the fight against illegal immigration.

She also signed an agreement with the department for a state financial aid package of €150 million.

Water shortage

The archipelago of 310,000 inhabitants is facing its worst drought since 1997, made worse by a lack of infrastructure and investment.

Residents have access to clean water  on one day in three and are now receiving bottled water shipped in from the mainland.

• French island Mayotte survives on bottled water in century's worst drought

The government has said that the free distribution of bottled water will continue for "as long as necessary", and bills will be paid by the State.

Borne also confirmed the expansion of an existing desalination plant, which will produce an additional 1,200 m3 of water per day as well as plans to construct a second plant.

Several aide packages for businesses and agriculture have also been extended.

France's Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne (L) talks to a local resident waiting for exchanging her empty bottles of water for filled ones in Labattoir in Dzaoudzi on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, on December 8, 2023 © AFP - MIGUEL MEDINA

Housing

Elisabeth Borne then visited a sprawling shantytown in Koungou (north-east), cordoned off for the occasion by the army and which is earmarked to be dismantled.

She announced the creation of an Operation of National Interest (OIN) in three municipalities to help rehouse its residents. 

"It is not worthy of our country," Borne said, underling the government's determination to strengthen the fight against illegal immigration, and to offer "dignified" housing to people who are in a legal situation.

The central government reported that 700 informal settlements were dismantled this year, compared to 1,600 in 2021.

Around 30 percent of housing is considered unsanitary.

Security

Turning to the issue of insecurity,Borne also promised action.

"We are not going to leave lawless areas," she told local radio.

Mayotte has been shaken for several weeks by clashes between villages.

• Authorities demolish slums on French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte

"The violence that you are experiencing is not normal", Borne admitted, reiterating that the fight against irregular immigration and insecurity are the government's "absolute priorities" in Mayotte.

Borne said the State will finance the reinforcing of school bus windows, regularly targeted by stone-throwing.

A second prison, with 400 places, is to be built, although the location has not yet been chosen.

Immigration

She also announced an interministerial plan called Shikandra 2 to deal with irregular immigration.

This will include an improvement in the resources involved, such as the modernisation of sea surveillance radars by 2027.

• Money from France will not help Comoros swallow the Wuambushu pill

The number of expulsions of illegal immigrants, many of them coming from the neighbouring Comoros islands, has fallen- around 22,000 since the start of the year, compared to 25,000 in 2022, according to government figures.

Half of the population does not have French nationality, according to national statistics body INSEE, even if a third of foreigners were born in Mayotte.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin visited the archipelago in June to defend the controversial Wuambushu police operation to fight unsanitary housing, crime and illegal immigration.

Health

Borne also visited the Mayotte Hospital Centre, which is short-staffed.

The State will invest €240 million to expand and upgrade the centre which provides 70 percent of the care available on the island.

The work will start in 2024 and includes the modernisation of the emergency department, maternity ward, as well as psychiatric services.

Borne was also to confirm the construction of a second hospital in Combani (central-west), promised by President Emmanuel Macron in 2019, due to start in early 2024, operated by the French Red Cross.

The training offer for caregivers will be improved and a second Nursing Training Institute (IFSI) will open in 2024.