Images of Mayotte after the cyclone show a devastated habitat. In fact, on the island at least 4 out of 10 homes are precarious constructions. The housing deficit largely explains this situation.
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Twisted metal sheets, stacked boards, scattered fabrics… The images of Mayotte evoke desolation. On Monday, the island’s prefect explained that he expected several hundred victims. This is partly because on the island, at least 4 out of 10 homes are precarious constructions, according to 2017 statistics from the Regional Health Agency. A precarious habitat made up of huts built more or less permanently, in areas known as “high hazards”, “ very sloping, at the edge of ravines, along watercourses. Places that shouldn’t be buildable », underlines Marie-Madeleine Salvanes, architect, who has worked on individual and urban rehabilitation in Mayotte. Homes that had little chance of withstanding the unprecedented violence of Cyclone Chido.
These constructions are very numerous due to a long-standing lack of housing on the island. The departmental action plan for housing and accommodation for disadvantaged people 2018-2023 noted a need for around 8,000 social rental housing units by 2025 for only the municipalities subject to obligation. If programs for the rehabilitation of certain habitats and the construction of new housing exist, the Abbé Pierre foundation believes that public responses and existing intervention systems are still “insufficient” And “misfits“.
A third of residents live in a slum
In fact, in Mayotte, a third of the 320,000 inhabitants live in these huts and shanty towns. Migratory pressure is singled out by a certain number of political actors, notably the National Rally. Its group president at the National Assembly Marine Le Pen, visiting the island in April, denounced “the chaos[qui]settled» due to illegal immigration and insecurity. However, on the ground, researchers and civil society figures point to many other reasons for this tense situation in the housing sector. “Mayotte is a factory of undocumented immigrants and therefore of shantytowns,affirms this activist who prefers to remain anonymous.A certain number of migrants do not have a residence permit even though they could qualify for one, others have one but it does not give them the right to work. They find themselves forced to live in these slums.» A researcher specializing in urban planning issues on the island also highlights “the desire of politics not to reinforce the slums» and therefore not to “not secure existing housing“.
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In April 2023, Operation Wuambushu orchestrated by the Ministry of the Interior was launched. It aims to expel people in irregular situations and destroy slums. But in the context of their destruction in application of an order taken under the Elan law, the State has the obligation to offer each occupant a suitable rehousing offer. “Fatima, Zaïnabou, Daoud, people holding residence permits or French nationality have not been decently rehoused», highlights Maître Marjane Ghaem who defends victims of eviction in Mayotte.
The lawyer insists: life in these informal dwellings does not only concern people in irregular situations. “There is a fairly large proportion of people of French nationality, people holding a 10-year card or a multi-year residence permit, who work and do not have access to a social housing offer that would be adapted“, she insists. More than 70% of the population in Mayotte lives on less than 3,200 euros per year and the minimum wage there is lower than the amount paid in mainland France. The poverty rate and very high rents do not allow even working families to find decent housing, explain several people in the field. “They therefore have little other choice in reality than to build a hut in an informal neighborhood.», concludes Marjane Ghaem.
After the cyclone, several thousand people found themselves without homes. Their rehousing will be a central issue in the coming weeks. The different actors are asking questions. Are we going to give residence permits for the mainland to people who are eligible? Will construction and rehabilitation projects be accelerated? Some are worried about deportations at the border. Already, hammer blows are being heard on the island, as residents of precarious neighborhoods try to rebuild their homes.
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