The French authorities have to face several obstacles in order to carry out this vast action to fight against illegal immigration in the 101st French department.
An intervention strewn with pitfalls. Operation Wuambushu, set up by the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas, has had a series of setbacks. On Monday evening, the judicial court of Mamoudzou, in Mayotte, suspended the destruction of the Talus 2 shantytown scheduled for Tuesday, April 25.
>> Follow the latest news on Operation Wuambushu in Mayotte in our live
This decision adds to diplomatic tensions, as well as on the archipelago. Franceinfo explains why the operation in Mayotte is getting more complicated day by day for the French authorities.
A legal setback against the destruction of slums
It was one of the key objectives announced by Gérald Darmanin on Friday on franceinfo. The Wuambushu operation should enable “the destruction of 1,000 bangas”, a term that refers to sheet metal houses in Mayotte. The Minister of the Interior and Overseas has promised to “relocate people”.
But a court decision in the department could well prevent or slow down this objective. The Mamoudzou court suspended the operation to destroy the Talus 2 shantytown in the Majicavo district, in the Koungou commune, scheduled for Tuesday morning. Justice had been seized in summary procedure by about twenty inhabitants of the slum, represented by a group of about ten lawyers.
>> REPORT. Operation “Wuambushu” in Mayotte: in the largest slum in France, Comorians fear “civil war”
In this decision, the judge in chambers “orders the prefect of Mayotte to cease all evacuation and demolition of habitats” in Majicavo, adding that “the destruction of homes (…) is manifestly irregular”, “jeopardizing security” inhabitants.
This is not the first time that justice has decided to abandon a “decasing” operation wanted by the State. In March, she had suspended a planned action in the same neighborhood because “no concrete proposal on accommodation offers” had not been sent to the applicants, reports La 1ère Mayotte.
However, the legal battle is not over. The state will appeal the decision, said Gérald Darmanin. “The action carried out in Mayotte is the restoration of republican peace. It is a difficult but extremely resolute action”, added the Minister on Twitter.
A diplomatic disappointment with the Comoros
For their part, the Comoros are raising their voices. As of April 10, the Comorian presidency asked France of “to renouncer” to the operation. Two weeks later, the Comorian government took action. Thus, a boat from Mayotte could not dock in the Comoros on Monday. “As long as the French side decides to do things unilaterally, we will take our responsibilities. No expelled person will return to a port under Comorian sovereignty”said Comorian Interior Minister Fakridine Mahamoud.
This is a diplomatic disappointment for France, while the Minister of the Interior and Overseas France denied any difficulty with the government of the Comoros a few hours earlier, on France 2. “We have a well-understood interest with the government of the Comoros because they themselves are subject to immigration from Madagascar and Africa from the Great Lakes”said Gérald Darmanin, recalling that 25,000 Comorians had been expelled from Mayotte to the Comoros in 2022.
The tone therefore seems to have changed between the two countries. “The operations (…) to fight against delinquency and against unsanitary housing, with their consequences on illegal immigration, we will not stop them”, reacted the prefect of Mayotte, Thierry Suquet, shortly after the announcement of the Comorian Ministry of the Interior. The state representative also said he hoped “resume quickly” boat rotations to the Comorian island of Anjouan.
Strong tensions on the archipelago
While the Wuambushu operation has just started, the hundreds of law enforcement officers deployed on the spot have to deal with strong tensions with certain inhabitants of the archipelago. Police officers from the Eighth Republican Security Company, an elite unit specializing in urban violence, had to face stones during one of their first operations in Mayotte on Sunday.
No less than 650 tear gas grenades, 85 de-encirclement grenades and 60 shots from defense bullet launchers (LBD) were used in an attempt to scare away “a hundred assailants armed with machetes”according to the police, quoted by The world (article for subscribers). The police even opened fire 12 times using their automatic pistols “to the ground and to scare away” the attackers, according to several testimonies collected by the daily.
Many damages have also been observed in Mayotte since the beginning of the operation. The Kawéni fire station was thus targeted overnight from Monday to Tuesday and several vehicles were damaged, reports The 1st. Homes also have been callassed.