Overseas Minister Manuel Valls faced numerous criticisms from the opposition on Monday in the National Assembly concerning the emergency bill on Mayotte, the first text proposed by the government of François Bayrou, and “one of the pieces of a larger and much more ambitious whole” for Mayotte, according to him.
The text aims to accelerate the rules and procedures for the reconstruction of the French archipelago. In particular, it authorizes the State to waive planning rules for two years, facilitating expropriation, but also contains more temporary social measures.
Deemed insufficient by many, it should however be adopted without difficulty, because the sensitive issue of migration is not addressed, postponed until later.
This examination begins as the archipelago suffered the passage of tropical storm Dikeledi which caused significant flooding, less than a month after the devastation of Cyclone Chido. The red alert triggered on Saturday has been lifted.
Manuel Valls introduced the debates of the Economic Affairs Committee, making his grand return to the parliamentary cauldron on this occasion. “We have a clear mandate this afternoon, that of laying the first stones of (the) rebuilding” of Mayotte, he said.
– Inadmissible amendments –
Appointed rapporteur of the bill, the Mayotte MP Estelle Youssouffa (Liot) harshly judged a text “without real ambition”, developed “without consultation with local elected officials or parliamentarians”, and which “remains largely silent on essential subjects such as immigration.
“All of us, local elected officials and Mahorais parliamentarians, have asked in vain for the destruction of the slums, but also for the suspension of the issuance of residence permits and asylum applications in our department,” she regretted.
Following him, the second MP for Mayotte, Anchya Bamana (RN), said she was “angry” at a bill “which misses the point”, by not making it possible to fight against “migrant overwhelm “.
The former environmentalist Minister of the Environment Dominique Voynet, who was director of the Mayotte Regional Health Agency from 2019 to 2021, castigated a “shaky project”, regretting in particular that there is “not one word” on the “means deployed to carry out the rehabilitation of water production and distribution installations”.
On behalf of LR, a member of the government coalition, MP Philippe Gosselin deplored the fact that the executive had introduced in the form of amendments measures to combat the reconstruction of slums – running the risk of them being declared inadmissible, because it has no direct or indirect relationship with the text. Which was indeed the case.
– “Restriction” of land rights –
“This bill is an essential response. But it is only a first response,” argued Manuel Valls, recalling that another draft “program law” containing longer-term measures is planned for March. A bill aimed at restricting land rights in Mayotte will also be examined on February 6, within the framework of the parliamentary “niche” of the LR group.
“We will have to take firm measures” to fight against illegal immigration, extend the length of residence of parents for their children's access to French nationality, limit fraudulent recognition of paternity, and accelerate the return of African nationals to their country of origin, listed Mr. Valls, the sixth minister to hold this portfolio since 2022.
“We must increase the removal of illegal immigrants from 25,000 to 35,000, probably more. This also requires a very firm relationship with the Comoros,” he continued.
The debates, generally hushed, were marked by a skirmish between Mr. Valls and the deputy Aurélien Taché (former Macronist who became LFI), who accused him of wanting to build at “discounts”, and put an end to to the law of soil, as an extension of its support for the deprivation of nationality in 2017.
“I see that neither you nor I have changed”, quipped Mr. Valls, responding that the challenge was “precisely” to “not build cheaply”, and refusing to be in favor of the abolition of land rights. “It is the restriction of this right” that he supports, like “all Mahorais”.
After its examination in committee, the text will be debated in the hemicycle from January 20. The Senate plans to take it up on February 3.
