The inhabitants had already been preparing for it for several days. The diggers went into action, this Monday, May 22 in Mayotte, to demolish the unsanitary sheet metal huts of Talus 2, one of the largest slums in this French territory in the Indian Ocean, the poorest department in France. This “stripping” began around 7:30 a.m. local time (6:30 a.m. in Paris) in the Majicavo district, in the town of Koungou (north).
The authorities have since April deployed hundreds of police and gendarmes to Mayotte to prepare and carry out a series of interventions by the security and social services grouped under the name of “Wuambushu” (“recovery” in Mahorais). This operation, which aims to reduce unsanitary housing and expel irregular migrants, mostly from the neighboring Comoros archipelago, had almost come to a standstill since its launch nearly a month ago.
Initially scheduled for April 25, the demolition of the large shantytown called Talus 2 had been suspended by the administrative court, before two new court decisions ruled in favor of the state, the last dating from Wednesday.
A demolition that should last a week
Early Monday morning, gendarmes equipped with crowbars entered the homes to check that no one was inside before the start of the demolitions, according to AFP journalists on the spot. Electricity and water were cut off. From 7:30 local time, the diggers began to destroy the shantytown, smashing the hard walls and crushing the sheet metal with a dull metallic sound.
The demolition of Talus 2 “should last all week”, said Psylvia Dewas, responsible for the reduction of illegal housing in the prefecture of Mayotte, to the press. It is a question of destroying 135 sheet metal huts in this informal district, out of a thousand unsanitary dwellings promised to be destroyed in the coming months in Mayotte.
A showdown between Paris and Moroni
“Wuambushu” is denounced as “brutal”, “anti-poor” and violating the rights of migrants by associations, but supported by elected officials and many Mayotte residents.
The operation is the subject of a showdown between Paris and Moroni which led to the suspension of the maritime link between Mayotte and the nearby Comorian island of Anjouan for nearly three weeks. The expulsions of undocumented Comorians were able to resume last Wednesday thanks to the restart of rotations.
Of the estimated 350,000 inhabitants of Mayotte, half do not have French nationality.