the abolition of land law is not unanimous within the presidential majority

The Minister of Overseas Territories, Marie Guévenoux, returns to Mayotte on Wednesday and Thursday, for the third time in less than two months. On the menu of discussions on site: the abolition of land rights. This proposal is not unanimous among the majority.

In Mayotte, faced with the influx of migrants, the revision of the Constitution to remove land rights is generally expected by the population, and even demanded by elected officials. The Minister of Overseas Territories, Marie Guévenoux, will again meet mayors, parliamentarians and departmental councilors from Mahor on Wednesday April 3 and Thursday April 4 to reiterate her determination. The text is expected on May 22 in the Council of Ministers, for adoption hoped for in Parliament before the summer, except that in Paris, it is more complicated. An advisor to the executive fears “a fairly strong debate in the majority”.

This debate has already started. The president of the law commission, Sacha Houlié, is against the abolition of land rights in Mayotte. He went there ten days ago with MoDem vice-president of the National Assembly, Élodie Jacquier-Laforge. They came back without being convinced by the effectiveness of the measure, because “the attractiveness of Mayotte is not limited to the right of the soil”, she says. The MP was also invited Tuesday evening to the MoDem executive office to present her arguments.

“You liked the immigration law, you will love the constitutional revision on Mayotte!”

If François Bayrou is for reform, some are against it. “Soil law has become the scapegoat of the Mahoraisexplains a centrist MP, but we’ve already restricted it and it doesn’t change anything.”. Since 2018, one of the parents must have had a residence permit for three months for a child born in Mayotte to automatically become French at the age of 18. The government therefore wants to be more radical. “We are no longer finagling and we are sending a strong signal to all the countries in the area”justifies an advisor.

The question of the effectiveness of the abolition of land rights in Mayotte to reduce illegal immigration is not the only subject of tension. Some, on the left wing of the majority, are bothered by this breach in the law of the ground. “It is an immutable principle”insists a Macronist, who warns the government: “you liked the immigration law, you will love the constitutional revision on Mayotte!”. Reply from a ministerial advisor: “we are not going to replay this match on the backs of the Mahorais”. To convince, the Minister of Overseas Territories will return to Mayotte again between now and May 22, with parliamentarians in her luggage.