This is not a simple trip for the elected frontist, who wants to continue to maintain the role she gives herself as the leading opponent of power, and her presidential stature. It is also a piece of political pressure.
The last time Marine Le Pen went to Mayotte, the leader of the National Rally (RN) deputies let herself be carried away by local traditions. It was last April, in the middle of the European election campaign. In one of the photos taken on site, the Pas-de-Calais MP is comfortably seated on a chair, after meeting Mahorais at the Ngwezi crossroads, near Chirongui. Upon his arrival, the inhabitants, women, had dressed him in Mayotte fashion, with a colorful top, red and gold, and a salouva, the traditional outfit of Mahorese women, in the colors of ylang flowers. ylang. Already, as she descended the steps of her plane, wreaths of flowers awaited the “natural candidate” of the nationalist party in the next presidential election.
This Sunday, Marine Le Pen returns to Mayotte for three days and the situation will necessarily be different from last April. The disaster of Cyclone Chido, the most devastating in 90 years, passed by, with its incalculable number of victims: 39 dead, and a little more than 5,600 injured, according to a very cautious but official report. More than a third of homes still remain without electricity and the island's shanty towns have been razed.
This is not a simple trip for Marine Le Pen, who wants to continue to maintain the role she gives herself as the leading opponent of power, and her presidential stature. It is also a piece of political pressure. Two other men went to the island before her, Emmanuel Macron on December 19 and 20, and François Bayrou, the new prime minister, at the start of the week. The two heads of the executive listed the measures, emergency and longer term.
Mayotte was already on Marine Le Pen's mind during her New Year's greetings. “You have suffered the worst, you have seen the devastation past”she declared, before adding: “We will do everything we can to expedite the help you need”. The president of the RN parliamentary group had judged that “the announcements made by the Prime Minister for Mayotte are undoubtedly going in the right direction”. “We hope that the hopes of the Mahorais will not be betrayed again and that this plan will be implemented and respected. As deputies, we will, of course, ensure that the word given is respected.she insisted.
In Mayotte, Marine Le Pen cultivates her overseas soil, a subject that is particularly close to her heart. The small island in the Indian Ocean is at the center of the Marinist vision. The migration crisis, endemic insecurity and poverty affecting the latest French department are, as the future RN candidate in 2021 said, “a symbol of what we could experience tomorrow”. “Mayotte is living our future”she often prophesies.
The island repays Marine Le Pen for the attention she gives her. At the time of the early legislative elections last June, the RN elected a deputy, Anchya Bamana, in the second constituency. The first is held by the very media-oriented Estelle Youssouffa, from the Liot group. The RN's electoral scores have increased considerably. During the 2012 presidential election, only 2.77% of Mahorais (996 small votes) voted for Marine Le Pen, candidate of the National Front. 10 years later, she collected 59.1% in the second round against Emmanuel Macron.
For her trip, Marine Le Pen “will meet civil security, then go to meet the residents”. There would also be “a time of exchange planned for the end of Sunday afternoon in Mamoudzou with victims”. The rest of his program, Monday and Tuesday, is still unclear, but “the objective is to meet the victims on several points of the island”warns those around him.
All those close to Marine Le Pen highlight a particularity of the island: more than 95% of the inhabitants are of the Muslim faith. “This is a fact which cancels all accusations of 'racism' or 'Islamophobia' against us”notes one of his lieutenants, with relish. In December 2021, during the presidential campaign, before a public meeting of the RN candidate, a religious leader took the stage and launched a prayer in Arabic. The Mahorais have found a nickname for Marine Le Pen: “Tata Mariam».