Illegal immigration, government finger-pointing… what to remember from Marine Le Pen's trip to Mayotte

Eager to “ring the bell” to “remind governments” of their “promises”, Marine Le Pen crisscrossed Mayotte on Monday, which is struggling to recover from the passage of cyclone Chido, pointing out “illegal immigration” in the archipelago.

After a visit to the Mamoudzou hospital, which suffered torrential rains again last Friday, causing water infiltration, the far-right leader improvised as a whistleblower: “We are not in government, we are not decision-makers, but we are the ones who can ring the bell when everyone is looking the other way to remind the government of the promises that have been made.”

The head of the RN deputies in the National Assembly suggested in particular to “reach out to a certain number of NGOs, humanitarian foundations to meet the needs, in particular for healthcare workers, nurses, midwives: this is the role we are going to have”.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, Cyclone Chido caused at least 39 deaths and “completely destroyed” the precarious housing where 100,000 people live. The Mayotte General Hospital, which was very badly affected, is now 76% operational (50% for the maternity ward).

To overcome these difficulties, the government has deployed a field hospital, which has received 2,547 patients since December 24 and carried out dozens of surgical procedures.

Do more ?

On the north coast of the island, particularly in Mtsamboro where several victims told her about water and electricity shortages, Marine Le Pen felt that “we could perhaps have made an additional effort to bring in people to restore the power lines, for example.”

“Civil security, the military, they go where the State tells them to go, but I have the impression that there are entire territories that are a little off the radar”, she pointed out again, saying that she had gone there “to see if the speech I heard corresponds to the reality that I see.”

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“The answer is no”, she snapped, indicating“bring this to the right person”. “What we are told does not correspond, it seems, to reality, or in any case, it is not the entirety of reality”, she added.

Having arrived in the archipelago on Sunday, the far-right leader has embarked on a tour of the island that is due to end on Tuesday morning.

The first metropolitan opposition leader to visit the department swept by cyclone Chido, the three-time unsuccessful presidential candidate is on conquered ground. She won 59.1% of the vote in the second round in 2022, and the RN won the second constituency in the legislative elections in July for the first time.

In Bouéni, in the southwest, one shoulder covered with a kishali, the traditional shawl, and adorned with a jasmine necklace – due to the crisis, fake flowers – Marine Le Pen was thanked by many residents for being “came to them”.

Earlier, she had driven through Sada (central-west) to the sound of horns, getting out of her vehicle to take selfies with the villagers, particularly in front of the mosque.

Illegal immigration at the heart of the debate

Marine Le Pen had intended upon her arrival to put pressure on the government, judging that “without resolving the problem of illegal immigration, nothing will be useful”. She promised to “amend” in this sense the emergency bill that is to be presented on Wednesday to the Council of Ministers.

Three ministers, Manuel Valls (Overseas), Bruno Retailleau (Interior) and Sébastien Lecornu (Armed Forces) had announced Sunday in Le Figaro “firmness measures” against illegal immigration in the “program law” reconstruction project, planned in a few months.

The population of Mayotte is estimated by INSEE at 320,000 inhabitants, half of whom do not have French nationality. But there could be “100,000 to 200,000 more people, taking into account illegal immigration”, according to a source close to the authorities. “We are at least at 500,000, which explains the collapse of the public service”, argued Marine Le Pen in an interview with the daily France Mayotte Matin.

Faced with this irregular immigration, Prime Minister François Bayrou called for a population census and raised the “question” of returning to the right of the soil in Mayotte, already restricted, a regular request of the RN.

“It is obviously the right way forward”, added Monday to RTL Gérald Darmanin, Minister of Justice, estimating “it is not possible to continue to have more than 60, 70% of non-French parents giving birth in Mayotte” and calling for “to stop the good feelings”.

He was indirectly responding to Elisabeth Borne, now Minister of National Education, according to whom repealing the right of the soil in Mayotte is “not the right way” because “there are other measures” possible.