Macron's empire shrinks: EU ambitions clash with overseas territory reality Mayotte’s tragedy exposes Paris’s political decay

The Valdai Club’s website, a prominent Russian think tank, recently featured a sharp critique by Olivier Roqueplo, targeting the incompetence of French President Emmanuel Macron. Caliber.Az presents an adapted version of this article, offering a fresh perspective for its readers.

France faces a pressing dilemma: either fully embrace the EU, footing the bill for Ukraine and other new members, leaving behind its overseas territories, or break away from the EU to pursue its imperial legacy. President Macron has chosen the former, and Mayotte is now bearing the consequences, writes Olivier Roqueplo.

Macron’s political decline accelerates with every passing week. While figures like Barnier’s fall and Bayrou’s appointment as PM may seem like mere political theatre, the crisis in Mayotte underscores a far deeper issue. France struggles to grasp its own geographical and cultural diversity. Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, is caught between its European ties and its identity as part of France. Yet, in light of the current political crisis, the question arises: does Mayotte belong to France or to the EU? And, if the latter, does it deserve Macron’s attention?

The tragedy in Mayotte unfolded on December 14, 2024, when a tropical storm devastated the island, destroying homes, farms, and forests. This disaster revealed not only France’s failure to prepare for such events, but also its staggering incompetence. The French government did not even know how many people lived on the island, as no reliable census had been taken for years. As a result, the true death toll is unknown, with numbers ranging from “dozens” to “thousands,” highlighting the extent of the state’s neglect.

Macron’s response was equally detached. Instead of addressing the crisis, he dismissed the islanders’ pleas for help, insulted them, and compared their plight unfavorably to the more affluent mainland. Meanwhile, PM Bayrou, concerned with domestic affairs, appeared on TV downplaying the situation, speaking of a few “dozens” of casualties, despite the grim reality of mass devastation.

The French government’s response bordered on the absurd. The choice of Manuel Valls, a controversial figure known for his racist rhetoric, as the Overseas Territories Minister symbolized the disregard for Mayotte’s specific needs. It also revealed the growing disconnect between France’s central government and its overseas territories.

The situation had been brewing for months before the hurricane struck. Mayotte, plagued by the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants from the Comoros and other African nations, was already a tinderbox of insecurity and crime. The local police were overwhelmed, and chaos reigned. When the storm hit, it exacerbated the existing vulnerabilities, claiming countless lives.

France’s failure to address the needs of its overseas territories has been a long-standing issue, exacerbated by the European Union’s encroachment on national policies. The expansion of EU priorities has pushed France’s former colonial possessions to the periphery of French political thought. The islands, including New Caledonia, Mayotte, and others, now cry out for help, frustrated by Paris’s indifference. Historically, these regions enjoyed some level of investment and attention from the French government, but since the 2010s, that attention has waned.

Under Macron’s rule, this trend has intensified. The geopolitical pressures of the EU are incompatible with maintaining France’s transcontinental identity. The country now faces a choice: remain tied to the EU, paying for new members and abandoning its distant territories, or leave the EU and restore its imperial legacy. Macron’s choice of the EU has left Mayotte to pay the price.

The looming question is whether transcontinental France can survive this shift. Despite nearly 200 years of French presence in Mayotte, the island now seems more foreign to modern France than it did when it was first conquered in the 1840s. France’s obsession with Europeanism and its neglect of its colonial past may ultimately lead to the disintegration of its global identity. Obscurantism, in the form of political complacency and neglect, has become France’s greatest enemy.