French authorities start demolishing slums on Indian Ocean territory

ANKARA

French authorities in Mayotte island on Monday started demolishing the houses in the Talus 2 slums, according to media reports.

The demolition drive is part of Operation Wuambushu, which was launched on April 25 to expel irregular migrants from France's offshore territories in the Indian Ocean, French broadcaster France Info said.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Twitter said: "We resume demolishing the slums where numerous families were living in indecent conditions, and we offer them relocation."

The operation was earlier delayed when a local court ordered the suspension of evacuations.

Mayotte Court of Appeal last week approved the demolition of the slums.

While migrants' associations denounced the operation, local officials, including members of the parliament, supported the drive.

Most of the migrants are from the neighboring archipelago nation of Comoros, which has refused to admit individuals so far expelled from the French territory, according to media reports.

Estelle Youssouffa, a member of the French parliament for the Mayotte archipelago, voiced support for Operation Wuambushu on April 24.

"The slums are homes of insecurity, violence, hosting traffickers, and gangs who spread terror," she said.

Last November, Youssouffa accused the government of neglecting the region for years, while Mamoudzou, the biggest city in Mayotte, has faced a spike in gang violence.

The lawmaker asked Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to deploy the navy "in order to defend the borders" of the region.

"What do you intend to do to prevent a civil war in Mayotte?" she asked.

Situation in Mayotte

Over the last five years, Mayotte has attracted rising numbers of migrants from neighboring islands, especially Comoros, mainly women aged 15 to 34 and their children, according to official figures.

Nearly half of its population lack French citizenship, while a third of those born on the island are foreigners, data from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies shows.

Authorities last year escorted 25,380 foreigners to the border, local officials said.

Mayotte became a French protectorate in 1841 and a department of France in 2011 following a referendum.