The bill for the "refoundation" of Mayotte widely adopted in the Senate

More than five months after Cyclone Chido ravaged the Indian Ocean territory between the Comoros and Madagascar, the upper house, dominated by an alliance of the right and centrists, voted 226 votes to 17 in the first reading.

"We have taken a very important, decisive step towards the reconstruction of Mayotte," said Overseas Minister Manuel Valls after the adoption of a text that, according to him, had been awaited for "years and decades" in the archipelago.

The left, however, expressed its hostility to numerous measures to combat insecurity, immigration and substandard housing, the main "scourges" identified in Mayotte by Manuel Valls.

"We have not abandoned Mayotte," the minister insisted during the debates on this bill last week at the Luxembourg Palace, pleased to see senators support the majority of the government's proposals.

"Everything is falling apart"

But he has also faced a lot of criticism from parliamentarians who fear empty or deceptive promises.

"The numbers aren't there," warned Mayotte Senator Saïd Omar Oili during the debates, for whom the government is hiding behind "a catalogue of promises rather than a real roadmap." "The promised aid must become reality because everything is collapsing in Mayotte," urged the senator, who sits on the Socialist group and recommended that his colleagues abstain from voting on the text on Tuesday.

Water, education, health, infrastructure, security, immigration, informal housing... The bill addresses all the major issues facing France's 101st department, the poorest in the country.

It has the particularity of containing not only legislative provisions, but also a whole programmatic section, without normative value, in which the State lists its priorities and objectives for the period 2025-2031.

With a financial promise: to release "nearly four billion euros" over seven years to rebuild a battered archipelago.

The allocation and timetable for these investments have been clarified somewhat by the government through an amendment, without, however, fully meeting the demands of the region's elected officials who continue to call for greater transparency and resources.

The project also includes economic and social measures, with the creation of a global free zone - with 100% tax breaks - and the prospect, by 2031, of a "social convergence" between mainland France and the archipelago.

The text also facilitates expropriations with a view to rebuilding "essential" infrastructure in the territory.

But it was the migration and security aspect that sparked the most debate in the chamber.

The fight against illegal immigration has in fact been made a priority by the government, in the face of the massive influx of illegal immigrants into the archipelago, particularly from the neighboring Comoros.

"Crusade against immigration"

Stricter conditions for access to residence and family reunification, expulsions made possible for parents who fail to raise their children when they are deemed dangerous, new detention centers for families with minors, increased penalties for fraudulent recognition of paternity... The senatorial right and the government, together, have multiplied the measures, often derogating from common law, to "reduce the attractiveness" of Mayotte.

A choice strongly denounced by the left: "blinded by the migration issue and swept away in a crusade against immigration, the government is committed to making Mayotte a land where human rights are trampled upon," protested Senator Evelyne Corbière Naminzo (Communist group) for Réunion Island during the debates.

"The reality is that immigration is jeopardizing any development prospects for Mayotte," retorted Horizons co-rapporteur Olivier Bitz, for whom "there will be no rebuilding without controlling migratory flows."

The bill will be examined by the National Assembly in June, with promulgation expected by the beginning of summer.