French authorities recently announced plans to change the constitution to revoke birthplace citizenship on Mayotte, a French island in the Indian Ocean. The change comes as a response to increasing social unrest, severe water shortages, and what local citizens are referring to as a ‘violent migration crisis’.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who came to the island over the weekend, confirmed that the amendment would stop granting citizenship to people born on Mayotte unless they were born to a French parent. According to Mayotte Journal, the new “lifting of the land law” represents the end of birthplace-based citizenship.
The Mayotte archipelago, located northwest of Madagascar, includes two islands belonging to France and the independent Comoros islands of Africa. Migrants from the Comoros Islands often aim to immigrate to Europe via Mayotte. The new birthright law, Daramanin suggests, will “cut off the attraction that the Mayotte archipelago might have.”
The African Institute for Security Studies outlines the challenge as follows: ‘Children born to undocumented parents in Mayotte are not French as per French law. But they’re not Comorian because they weren’t born in the Comoros and weren’t registered by their parents in the Comoros. These children are technically stateless. They cannot attend school, receive public healthcare, or work in Mayotte, and often resort to crime to survive. This constitutes a human tragedy.’
Marie Toussaint, an MEP and environmentalist, expressed her concern stating “Ending land rights in Mayotte will not resolve the territory’s difficulties. It will, however, damage our Republic.” Meanwhile, Le Figaro reports a mixed social reaction to the proposed amendment, with some denouncing it as an attack on French values, while others, notably right-wing and far-right politicians, suggest its nationwide application.
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