Mayotte's "refoundation" bill on the verge of adoption in the Senate

More than five months after Cyclone Chido ravaged this Indian Ocean territory, located between the Comoros and Madagascar, the government intends to take this text "a historic step" in its commitment to Mayotte.

The upper house, dominated by a right-wing-centrist alliance that supports the government, is expected to adopt it by a large margin on first reading during a formal vote scheduled for 18:30 p.m.

The left will nevertheless express its hostility to numerous measures to combat insecurity, immigration and substandard housing, the main "scourges" identified in Mayotte by the Minister for Overseas Territories, Manuel Valls.

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

"We have not abandoned Mayotte," the minister insisted during debates on the bill last week at the Luxembourg Palace. Satisfied to see senators support most of the government's proposals, he believes that this legislative initiative will help "build a future that lives up to the Mahorais' attachment to France."

"Everything is falling apart"

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

"The numbers don't add up," warns Mayotte Senator Saïd Omar Oili, who believes 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.

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 of the Upper House.

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 on the left.

"Blinded by the migration issue and caught up in a crusade against immigration, the government is trying to make Mayotte a land where human rights are trampled upon," complains Senator Evelyne Corbière Naminzo (Communist group) from Réunion.

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