Bulldozers clear slum on French Indian Ocean island Mayotte

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Bulldozers clear slum on French Indian Ocean island Mayotte

9:07 CAT | 17 Aug 2023

Image: Twitter / @Prefet976

Authorities in Mayotte said Monday they carried out large-scale bulldozing of slum dwellings on the French Indian Ocean island, part of what they said was an operation to combat illegal immigration and shoddy housing.

Police and officials were present as bulldozers went to work in the village of Hamouro, in the southeast of the island, the local prefecture said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A total of 81 “illegal dwellings” were demolished, while 36 families were “identified”, seven of which accepted the offer of alternative accommodation, the local officials said.

Since April, France has deployed hundreds of police officers in Mayotte — France’s poorest region — to prepare for a slum-clearing initiative called Operation Wuambushu (“Take Back” in the local language).

After weeks of legal delays and diplomatic tensions with the neighbouring Comoros Islands, which along with Mayotte makes up the archipelago, diggers started destroying sheet-metal shacks in May.

Some associations have denounced Wuambushu as a “brutal” measure violating the rights of migrants, but local elected officials and many islanders support it.

This week’s action is the biggest clearance in Mayotte since the launch of Operation Wuambushu.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has said the government plans to demolish around 1,250 substandard homes in Mayotte by “the end of the year”, including 1,000 tin huts.

Of the estimated 350,000 inhabitants of Mayotte, half do not have French nationality. Only a third of the inhabitants of the slums have French citizenship.

À la demande d’@EmmanuelMacron, l’action déterminée de l’Etat à #Mayotte contre l’insécurité, l’insalubrité et l’immigration illégale se poursuit : 81 habitations illégales démolies hier.
Merci aux agents de l’État mobilisés au service des Mahorais.https://t.co/s23yLcUFDI

— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) August 15, 2023

Nouvelle opération de lutte contre l’habitat illégal et insalubre.

📌 Notre engagement : démolir 1000 habitats illégaux et insalubres d’ici la fin de l’année ! pic.twitter.com/Tp84TxqYnk

— Préfet de Mayotte (@Prefet976) August 14, 2023

Nouvelle opération de lutte contre l’habitat illégal et insalubre.

81 habitations illégales ont été démolies à Hamouro dans la commune de Bandrélé ce jour.
36 familles ont été recensées et 7 d’entre elles ont accepté une proposition d’hébergement. pic.twitter.com/UpETEyRBrQ

— Préfet de Mayotte (@Prefet976) August 14, 2023

Source: AFP