In early 2024, a political and economic crisis emerged in the

French overseas department The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as "metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the same ...

Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...

Background

Mayotte is the poorest overseas

department in France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

, although it remains more economically developed than neighbouring

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and the

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

. The local economy relies heavily on the labour of

economic migrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

, many of whom are undocumented. In 2018, civil unrest was triggered by protests against the economic crisis and the presence of undocumented immigrants from the Comoros Islands. The protests involved roadblocks, a general

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

, and demonstrations, with residents expressing concerns over pressure on healthcare, housing, and education services due to the growing migrant population. In 2021, 54 Members of Parliament warned of an "impending social chaos" resulting from severe poverty and irregular immigration. In early 2023, the French government initiated efforts to demolish approximately 1,000 ''bangas''—makeshift homes located in slums that housed around 40% of the island's population By December 2023, emergency services announced they would no longer operate at night due to safety concerns. Protests were also held over water shortages caused by ongoing drought conditions. These issues were further exacerbated by long-standing underinvestment in infrastructure and public services in Mayotte. In response to the deteriorating situation, the French government launched Operation Wuambushu to address illegal immigration and improve security in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

region.

Events

In January 2024, the President of the National Assembly,

Yaël Braun-Pivet Yaël Braun-Pivet (; born 7 December 1970) is a French lawyer and politician who has been President of the French National Assembly since 28 June 2022. The first woman to hold the position, she was re-elected on 18 July 2024 following the 2024 ...

, visited Mayotte. Around the same time, police operations were carried out, prompting a fortnight of protests. Road blockades disrupted economic activity and led to food shortages. Incidents of violence were reported, and curfews were imposed in response to the unrest. The Minister of the Interior and Overseas,

Gérald Darmanin Gérald Moussa Jean Darmanin (; born 11 October 1982) is a French politician serving as Minister of Justice (France), Minister of Justice in the Bayrou government. He previously served as Minister of the Interior (France), Minister of the Inter ...

, also visited the island and announced plans to restrict the automatic right to French

citizenship by birth ''Jus soli'' ( or , ), meaning 'right of soil', is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. ''Jus soli'' was part of the English common law, in contrast to ''jus sanguinis'' ('right of blood') assoc ...

in Mayotte. The proposed measure received widespread support from the local population, who viewed it as a means to curb irregular immigration. In April 2024,

Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...

visited Mayotte. On 16 April 2024, Overseas Minister Marie Guévenoux announced the launch of Operation Wuambushu 2, aimed at combating substandard housing, irregular migration, and organised crime. The operation targeted the arrest of 60 alleged gang leaders and the demolition of 1,300 ''bangas''—twice the number removed during the previous year's campaign. In the

2024 French legislative election Legislative elections in France, Legislative elections were held in France on 30 June and 7 July 2024 (and one day earlier for some voters outside of metropolitan France) to elect all 577 Deputy (France), members of the 17th legislature of th ...

, the

National Rally The National Rally (, , RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (, , FN), is a French far-right politics, far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and French nationalism, nationalist. It is the single largest Nat ...

made significant gains in Mayotte, with Anchya Bamana winning the 2nd constituency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayotte crisis (2024) 2024 in Mayotte 2024 in France Economic crises Migrant crises Social crises 2024 in economic history Social history of France Economic history of France 2024 in Africa Anti-immigration politics in France Anti-immigration politics in Africa

Background

Events

See also

References