Gérald Darmanin is back in Mayotte as he promised after his visit in August. The Minister of the Interior must make a progress report in the Overseas Department on the reinforcements hired by the government to fight against insecurity. But the population does not really believe in a miracle visit.
It is to show that his promises have been followed up that the Minister of the Interior is once again setting foot in Mayotte. Leaving the department at the end of AugustGérald Darmanin had undertaken to perpetuate a mobile gendarmerie squadron and to create four new ones by 2027.
The minister had also promised to reinforce the actions carried out within the framework of the plan launched to fight against illegal immigration and to finance video protection and equipment for the municipal police. But since then, Mayotte has suffered a series of very violent attacks committed by rival gangs which led the government to send Raid police on the spot.
Poverty records
The Minister of the Interior and Overseas will spend New Year’s Eve alongside the Mahorais, and the police and gendarmes mobilized to ensure the safety of the population, specifies Place Beauvau. A way to show that the State is fully committed to a department that beats all records in terms of poverty. In Mayotte, half of the population lives on less than 160 euros per month.
► To listen: Great report: Mayotte, an island adrift
The Minister of the Interior is eagerly awaited by residents who want clear answers for simple problems. In 2022, more than 23,000 undocumented migrants were deported from Mayotte: “ I have lived here for over 25 years. Sometimes I sleep and when I wake up in the morning I see 10 or 15 faces I don’t know », Says a resident at the microphone of Pierre Olivier, RFI’s special correspondent back from the island.
The expectations of the inhabitants of Mayotte before Darmanin’s visit
This visit by Gérald Darmanin, this native of Mahorais expects a lot: ” We hope that what he is going to tell us will bring us a better “.
Skepticism
As for young people from neighboring Comoros, this official visit leaves people skeptical to say the least: “ If he bothers, I think he wants to tell us something (laughs)… he wants to come here, but to give us what? “.
But in the poorest department of France, many inhabitants do not really believe in a miracle visit from the Minister of the Interior: “ It’s no use at all. He comes there, he doesn’t give concrete solutions, just blather. We don’t see anything at all outside of that “.
Despite the reinforced presence of the police, residents say they see no improvement but are waiting to see what Gérald Darmanin will offer to help Mayotte.
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