An eventful introduction. If his appointment to the Bayrou government was a surprise, more or less well received, Manuel Valls must already tackle the burning issues of his Overseas Ministry. Between Mayotte devastated by Cyclone Chido and the fall of the local government in New Caledonia, the task begins without any warm-up for the former Prime Minister.
In an interview given to Outre-mer la 1ère this Thursday, the Minister of Overseas Territories announced that he would go to Mayotte, in the company of François Bayrou and other members of the government, from Sunday December 29 to “meet the elected officials , economic and social forces, the administration and the population” to “continue to respond to the emergency and begin the reconstruction” of the island.
Amend the special law on Mayotte to “respond to the emergency”
If the Prime Minister will only stay 24 hours on the island, Manuel Valls has planned to stay a little longer in order to carry out “necessary consultations” to amend the special law on Mayotte (examined in the Council of Ministers on 3 January) and make this text “as useful as possible” to “respond to the urgency” of the situation.
This special law should make it possible to waive certain rules – in terms of town planning or collection of donations for example – to rebuild Mayotte as quickly as possible.
If he says he understands “the expectations, the anxieties, the demands and the anger” of the Mahorais, Manuel Valls assured that he wants to “use this drama by drawing lessons from the past”. However, according to the minister, it will be necessary to “avoid demagoguery. It will be long and difficult. »
“France has no budget, which poses a certain number of problems”
On the subject of New Caledonia, Manuel Valls explained that he wanted to draw inspiration from “the Rocard method” (his “father in politics”) at the origin of the Matignon agreements in 1988. The “Caillou”, in crisis since several months, until violent riots and clashes from the month of May, is going through a crisis at all levels of society. A crisis further confirmed by the fall of the local government this Thursday.
Problem for the new Minister of Overseas Territories, “France does not have a budget, which poses a certain number of problems in relation to the commitments which were made a few weeks ago by Michel Barnier”, explains- he before adding: “For me, that’s the urgency.”
The urgency of putting loyalists and separatists back at the discussion table and “drawing a common path” according to the new minister.
“Away from a sort of infantilization of overseas territories”
Asked about the high cost of living, the major problem in Overseas Territories, Manuel Vals recalled that “commitments have been made” and that “they must be implemented”. A protocol aimed at reducing prices by 20% on 6,000 references, initiated in October in Martinique, was to come into force on January 1, but the fall of the Barnier government put everything back on the table. “We will undoubtedly have to go further” indicates Manuel Valls.
According to him, the Overseas Territories are “an asset for France in many areas, we must move away from a sort of infantilization vis-à-vis the overseas territories” and “redefine the link” between the State and its overseas territories. “It’s not just an institutional question, it’s a way of doing things. I wish that […] we are demonstrating a change in method. »
A curfew established in New Caledonia
This Friday, the High Commission of the Republic announced the establishment of a curfew from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. for New Year’s Eve and January 2 in the main municipalities of New Caledonia.
A curfew applied in Nouméa and neighboring municipalities, according to a decree published this Friday. A decision taken in view of “the context that the territory has been experiencing for several months, the tragic toll of road insecurity in recent weeks, as well as the repeated intervention of the police in certain municipalities”, specifies the top -commission in a press release.
This concerns the four municipalities of the Noumé agglomeration, Nouméa, Mont-Dore Dumbéa and Païta, where gatherings on public property have also been prohibited since September.
