A French court has ruled as illegal a major police operation planned for Tuesday to expel Comoran migrants from a shanty town on France's Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, where a crackdown on illegal immigration and delinquency has begun backed by security forces sent from the mainland.
Christian Ally Moussa, 42, drowned along with about 34 other people when their boat went down off the coast of Madagascar on March 12th as they were attempting to reach the French island of Mayotte, from where he had earlier been deported before he was able to attend a hearing over his application for French citizenship.
Mediapart can reveal details of a report compiled by six French ministries about the tragic situation faced by France's Indian Ocean archipelago. Covering issues such as health, housing, law and order, education and the legal system, the report's contents are devastating for the French state. Drawn up in January 2022, the document shows that the security-focused approach of interior minister Gérald Darmanin cannot, on its own, solve Mayotte's many problems. Fabrice Arfi and Nejma Brahim report.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak is traevlling to meet French president Emmanuel Macron with the issue of small boat crossings on the agenda as well as the conflict in Ukraine.
Comments from Tunisian president Kaïs Saïed over the presence of sub-Saharan migrants in the North African country and his talk of a “criminal plan” to change the nation's demographics have provoked a row. Students who come from sub-Saharan Africa now say they are living in fear and have been told to stay indoors to avoid being targeted. Meanwhile some migrant workers have been forcibly evicted from their homes. Lilia Blaise reports on a controversy in Tunisia which is also being exploited by France's far-right failed presidential candidate Éric Zemmour.
Most European Union countries waited until the last minute before suspending expulsions of Afghans who had sought asylum on their soil. Now that the Taliban have seized power in Kabul, the 27 EU foreign ministers are meeting this Tuesday to decide the next steps to take. A dignified welcome for Afghan exiles who have already arrived on their territory would be a first sign of solidarity, says Mediapart's Carine Fouteau.
After an Iranian woman became the first migrant known to have died crossing the Channel from France to Britain, a clandestine route that has been attempted by more than 1,200 people, organised crime groups are said to be taking control of the crossing they regard as highly lucrative.
Authorities in Paris and on France's Indian Ocean overseas département of Mayotte seem set on deterring further Sri Lankan asylum seekers from coming to the impoverished archipelago. Even if, as a series of documents show, the cost to taxpayers of sending that message has been exorbitant. Manuel Sanson from investigative website Le Poulpe reports
Migrants from Africa and the Middle East, desperate to reach a better life, continue to attempt to cross to France from Italy, where they are increasingly evicted from refugee centres by the country's coalition government of populists and far-right, using the deadly route of Alpine passes for which they are ill-equipped to traverse.
The odyssey of the migrant rescue ship Aquarius offers a new example of the violence of Europe-wide immigration policies, and not only those of the far-right in power in Italy, writes Mediapart co-editor Carine Fouteau. For the migrants onboard the Aquarius, who will eventually arrive in a state of exhaustion in Spain, the ship’s long and deviated route for a safe haven is yet further confirmation that they and others like them are simply considered as a burden by European countries – if, that is, they manage to arrive alive on the continent’s shores.
The numbers of people leaving France to live abroad has risen dramatically over the past eight years in comparison to the numbers of those taking up residence in the country, according to a study published this week by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. The institute also found that immigration now accounts for a relatively small proportion of the growth in the French population. Michel de Pracontal reports.
