Marine Le Pen is surrounded by an array of military authorities, in a photo posted on her X account. Enough to give the air of head of state to the former president of the National Rally who arrived on the tarmac of the Dzaoudzi airport, in Mayotte. Like a minister, for two days, the president of the RN group in the Assembly greeted the executives of the armed forces, the emergency services as well as the hospital staff, without forgetting a population committed to her cause who was received with honors.
This is the whole paradox of Mayotte. The island of perfume is officially a land of Islam in the Republic. Koranic institutions are recognized by the department. And yet, at the polls, the National Rally is well ahead, with an absolute majority in the first round of the 2022 presidential election.
A popularity that is verified on the ground. Already, last May, Marine Le Pen received a warm welcome from the “mothers”, these collectives of women who historically take to the streets in Mayotte in times of crisis. The president of the RN group was offered bouquets of jasmine, the emblematic flower of Mayotte. The deputy from Nord-Pas-de-Calais was also dressed in a kishali, the traditional Mahorais shawl. Honors that, three months earlier, in February 2024, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin did not receive, far from it…
« No jasmine for Darmanin! »
In the overactive WhatsApp loops, the word had spread on the eve of his arrival. “ No jasmine for Darmanin! » The first cop from France who came to present the results of Operation Wuambushu is accused, there… of not fighting effectively against immigration. Corresponding on site, we saw the women of the collectives whistle then track down the tenant of Beauvau in the streets of Mamoudzou.
Clashes between the Mahoraises and the police from the Operational Support Group even gave rise to surreal scenes. On one side, tear gas and, on the other, a local cooking condiment, dragon pepper, which will force the police to be relieved by the gendarmes, their eyes irritated by this gastronomic weapon.
Such tensions appeared in a context where the population perceived the gap between communication and government actions to fight against illegal immigration from the Comoros and the African Great Lakes. No wonder today, the speech of the opposition figure so appeals to the inhabitants of the seahorse island. As a foreshadowing of what is happening or could happen in France.
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