France, speaking of democracy, human rights, keeps on its colonial policy Article by Le Figaro

French Le Figaro newspaper has published an article saying residents of a French-occupied island of the Union of the Comoros and Mayotte, have been protesting for days against France's targeted immigration policy. Caliber.Az reprints the article.

Since January 22, residents have been blocking the island's roads and protesting against migration. They pledge to "intensify the movement" if the government does not send a mediator.

Anti-migration and anti-security protests continue on the island of Mayotte after a two-week blockade. There are still protesters in the Chiconi area in the west of the island. This Saturday morning, on the northbound and southbound four-lane road, about 12 people were sitting behind tree trunks, wooden pallets or garbage containers. Mohamed and Moussa are here from the first hours of the movement.

"We need to close our borders." We no longer feel at home. Half of the population is foreigners and no work is done. The word Wuambushu (editor's note, a police operation launched by Gérald Darmanin (French interior minister) in April 2023 to expel foreigners, destroy slums and fight crime in the archipelago) was a lie. The state continues to lie to us," two people complain. Since January 22, both have given up their jobs as ambulance and bus drivers in protest.

Road blockades have increased in other parts of the island, and this happened at the Mayotte 2018 initiative, a collective of citizens who fight against migration. "Internally displaced people occupy the football stadium illegally. This place has become a battleground for clashes between migrants and neighbourhood youth. The population is furious and we have been allowing the situation to deteriorate for years," the president of the collective, Safina Soula protested.

For several months, asylum seekers from the African Great Lakes region have settled near the Kawani Complex in Mamoudzou. Their ever-increasing number intensifies this tension. " “It was the straw that broke the camel’s back, Mayotte already facing strong immigration from the Comoros. The island is full of people, how can we accept refugees when we don’t know where to house them?” asks Ismaël Chakrina, deputy mayor of Sada, also present at the Chiconi dam to “support the movement”.

End forced settlement

These asylum seekers represent only 2,000 people out of a population of 300,000, and most of them are in normal circumstances. "Updating their administrative status allowed us to confirm the presence of persons benefiting from international protection and the majority of asylum seekers whose documents are currently being examined," the prefecture emphasized.

According to Gilles Fokou, deputy head of the Solidarité Mayotte association, who accompanied them, "the arrival of the first refugees coincides with the beginning of 2022." But when things go wrong, we find a minority a minority we designate as scapegoats.

The demolition of this temporary camp, promised by the French Minister of the Interior, started on January 25. "The first 40 refugees left for France on January 29," said Thierry Suquet of the Mayotte Prefecture (the legal representative of the Ministry of Interior on the ground). However, the protestors are not satisfied with this answer.

The participants of the movement "Forces Vives de Mayotte" demand the suspension of their stay in the territory, which prevents them from travelling to France, especially those with residence permits in the city of Mayotte. "This measure often increases social tension by concentrating the population on an island with limited resources," they noted.

They also want "an end to the exceptional legislative measures that lead to unjust differential treatment", as well as "an end to the permanent condemnation of the inhabitants of Mayotte". This Sunday, around a thousand people gathered at the Tsingoni stadium in the west of the island to chant "Forces Vives". Residents, as well as elected officials and trade union representatives were also present.

"We don't live anymore," says Raati, a "barragist" who lives in the neighbouring town of Combani. We know when the children will go to school, but we are not sure if they will be able to return home. As soon as you set off, you are afraid. There is aggression everywhere".

Demonstrators are now demanding the appointment of a mediator by the government and announcing "intensification of the protest movement" until his appointment. A demonstration is scheduled to be held in Mamoudzou on Tuesday. It is a decision supported by elected officials.

Sula Saïd-Suffu, a department adviser in the city of Sada, assures that "the department is on the side of the people. The demands are not new, but they have never been heard of. The people of Mahora feel more and more despised. And if this hatred is allowed to grow, the anti-French feelings will come out. That's why you have to say Stop!"

A barrier to care

Meanwhile, life on the island seems to have stopped. In the commune of Sada, near Chiconi, the shelves of the supermarket "Doukabé" have not been restored since the beginning of the movement. There are only a handful of cans and a few coffee capsules on the empty shelves. "We have no idea about the next delivery date," said Zouhairi Tadjiri, an accountant at Bourbon Distribution Mayotte. In the streets of the commune, garbage cans are overflowing and illegal dumps are being created.

“Garbage collection is suspended, an agreement with various blocking points is awaited," says "Forces Vives de Mayotte". It is also impossible for students to go to school. "Most of the factories are closed. "On Wednesday, there was only one student in the secondary school," said a teacher from Kahani. It is also a situation that prevents farmers from working. “We are suffering,” assures Day, a breeder of cows, sheep and poultry in Chiconi. To feed the animals, we have to go look for food on the other side of the island. At the moment, it’s an obstacle at the moment.”

For access to care, the situation is also starting to be critical. “Supplies of medicines and medical equipment from the port of Longoni have become difficult, only a third of the medicines have reached pharmacies, and medical equipment does not reach its destination in health establishments,” warns prefect Thierry Suquet.

For the general director of the Mayotte Hospital Center (CHM), Jean-Mathieu Defour, “the mobility of caregivers is also seriously hampered. The CHM is currently operating with less than 50 per cent of its hospital staff and the roadblocks are hindering the intervention of Samu-Smur and the firefighters.

“We are going to pick up sick or injured people by helicopter,” assures a CHM nurse. But at night we cannot move. We already know that deaths could have been avoided…” Interventions outside of Mamoudzou are also “impossible”, underlines the nurse. Because beyond the protesters' roadblocks, other hooded young people attack motorists. “These are criminals who are taking advantage of the situation. On Tuesday, some attacked the Sada gendarmerie,” Ismaël Chakrina, the deputy mayor of the town emphasized. Three of the perpetrators were brought to justice and imprisoned.