On Tuesday January 21, the National Assembly almost unanimously deleted a provision from the emergency bill to rebuild Mayotte. Under the guise of promoting development or rehousing projects, it would have facilitated expropriations on the island ravaged by cyclone Chido.
For the rapporteur, the deputy (Liot) of Mayotte Estelle Youssouffa, “the State has been trying to get its hands on land” in the archipelago for several decadesand “the aim of this article was really to be able to expropriate in Mayotte to build anything and carry out projects which have nothing to do with the cyclone”.
An assertion strongly denied by the Minister of Overseas Territories. Manuel Valls tried to explain, without success, that this provision was necessary due to local specificities which make it “almost impossible” to identify the owners of certain land. “Many Mahorais continued informal transfers of property in a completely legal manner but untraceable for the public authorities,” he underlined.
A solemn vote scheduled for Wednesday
With his project, the government did not intend to “expropriate or occupy the land without compensation”but avoid “being blocked by the definitive identification of the owners which may take several years before being able to launch operations”, pleaded the former Prime Minister.
The detailed examination of this emergency bill for Mayotte, the first text of the Bayrou government to be debated in the hemicycle, was completed on the evening of Tuesday, before a solemn vote scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. Despite the criticism, its adoption leaves little doubt with regard to the imperative to accelerate the reconstruction of the archipelago. The text mainly includes provisions aimed at deviating from town planning rules and facilitating the financing of reconstruction. It also contains social measures, such as tax facilities or reductions in contributions.
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