Mayotte is an example of the consequences of colonialism and imperialism in the modern day. Migration has been at the forefront of European minds. However, the migration crisis in the little-known island of Mayotte, has gone largely unnoticed.
Mayotte is the fourth island of the Comoros archipelago, situated between Mozambique and Madagascar within the Mozambique Channel. These tiny islands have a long history as trading spots for Persian, Arab and later European merchants. Colonised by France during the the 19th century, this mixing of cultures means that although French is the official language, Arabic, Comorian and the Malagasy dialect are common. Despite its small size, this land has deep geo-political significance to the French state. The Mozambique Channel, and consequently the islands it encompasses, have always been an influential trading route linking the Indian Ocean to the World. However it surged in importance when the Suez Canal closed due to war from 1967 to 1975, placing more demand on alternative routes. During this time, French forces had a heavy presence in the area, with the French Legion keeping order on the Comoros and carrying out regular patrols. These events highlighted the importance of the Comoros Islands and encouraged France to strengthen their grip and establish long term control over the area.
Consequently, allowing the archipelago to move towards the independence other colonies had achieved during the 1960s, was not beneficial to France. To remedy this, the colonial state allowed for what was presented as a fair referendum on the Comoros archipelago’s independence in 1974 and all islands, except Mayotte, voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence. In this first referendum 64% of Mayotte’s population voted to remain under French control, prompting the French government to organise a second referendum in cooperation with local elites and instead create a distinct “Mahoran identity” to justify their claim and tear away the island from its sisters. The result was not supported by the United Nations (UN), the Arab League, the African Union or Organization of Islamic Cooperation, who proclaimed the illegality of French Mayotte. The UN General Assembly upheld the Union of the Comoros’s claim to Mayotte. They had recognised the islands referendum results as one and therefore that Mayotte should have been decolonized alongside its sister islands. To this day the French state has maintained that Mayotte’s unique French history and second vote in 1976 underpins their claim to the island.
What became of French Mayotte
The colonial state’s geo-political intentions became evident after the second referendum when they moved all French military from the other, now independent, Comoros Islands, to a French Legion military base on Mayotte that same year. The Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLM) connected with Reunion, another department of France, and provided military support to the region wherever France saw fit. Thus, successfully providing France with international prestige and a reach that extended 8,000 km from its capital.
The French state’s strategic manipulation of Mayotte for military purposes has been largely overlooked. Instead, Mayotte has been presented as France’s jewel in the Indian Ocean, a demonstration of what ex-colonies could aspire to be. In comparison, the Comoros archipelago, like many ex-colonies that chose to leave their colonial mother, has been plagued with multiple coups since their independence, many of which were financed and pushed by the French government. This is part of a wider story but Mayotte has made headlines for other reasons.
Maternity on Mayotte
Mayotte’s immense birth rates are what has reached European media, where it is reported that of all the hospitals in the European Union, this island delivers the most babies despite being situated off the East African coast. Another statistic complicates this, with 70% of mothers giving birth on Mayotte being foreign, the majority of whom are illegal migrants hoping that their children will gain French citizenship by being born on French soil. For a long time, Mayotte’s status as a department of France granted Mayotte’s inhabitants French citizenship upon birth, whether the parents had French citizenship or not. Many foreign mothers have come to Mayotte with hopes of giving birth on the island and providing their new-borns with the papers that could better their lives.
These mothers come largely from East Africa or the other Comoros islands of Grand Comoros, Moheli and Anjouan. The Comoros became one of Africa’s poorest states, declining because of misrule and insecurity caused by 21 coups in 43 years. Although in Mayotte the population earns a third of what their fellow citizens in metropolitan, or mainland France do, they are still 14 times richer than their Comorian former countrymen. These poor economic conditions established in Comoros from political instability, mean that it is estimated 45% of the population live just below the poverty line. On top of this, Comoros children normally only complete 8.4 years of schooling by 18 years of age, and chronic malnutrition has stunted the growth of 31 in every 100 children. For many, Mayotte is their only option for a decent life.
For decades, people have been using small open vessels known as “kwassa-kwassa” to sail from the Union of the Comoros into the more prosperous French territory. It is estimated that around ten of these boats leave for Mayotte everyday. Despite having been deported back to the Comoros ten times already, a Comoros islander Abdallah Ahmed told journalists “I would rather die in Mayotte than live on Anjouan.”
Of the 256,000 people crammed onto Mayotte’s 144 square miles, only half of them bear French passports and 42 percent are there illegally. Those without papers are forced into makeshift towns and slums which because of the poverty people endure, have become associated with gangs and criminality. This migration to Mayotte has put immense strain on the local facilities and infrastructure so to curb this mass migration a new nationality code was introduced by the French state in 2017 which modifies the right to citizenship by birth. From this point on, children born in Mayotte are given French citizenship on the condition that at least one of their parents has been living legally on the island for at least three months before their birth.
However, Mayotte still remains a promising destination for many and thousands remain on the island in terrible conditions, unable to work legally or live legally. Despite the change in law and the “hard line approach” the French government is taking towards deportations, discontent amongst Mayotte natives towards the migrants has been increasing, resulting in several riots and protests. This anti-migration attitude has also attracted the attention of the French right wing who in April proclaimed that the island has been wrongfully “abandoned” by the government. Right wing leader Marine Le Pen achieved her best result in Mayotte at 59.10% in the 2022 elections. The involvement of the French right wing in Mayotte also demonstrates that the overall attitude towards migration, is to treat it as a threat rather than address the deep inequalities that have triggered it.
