Gérald Darmanin confirmed Thursday evening an upcoming operation against delinquency and illegal immigration in Mayotte, already widely rumored in the media for several weeks, but without giving a launch date, in an interview with Le Figaro.
This is the first time that the Minister of the Interior has spoken publicly on the subject since the revelations of Le Canard enchaîné in February. Gérald Darmanin confirmed the dispatch in recent days to the archipelago of “four squadrons of mobile gendarmes, CRS-8 police officers, specialists in the fight against urban violence, in total 510 members of the police” .
Baptized “Wuambushu”, which can mean “recovery” in Mahoran as “itchy hair”, the operation was validated by Emmanuel Macron in the defense council and should begin next week, according to a source familiar with the matter. It should last at least two months, according to information obtained by Agence France Presse from a close source. Thanks to these reinforcements, “we will redouble our activity” against local delinquency, said the minister. In total, “about forty organized criminal gangs” have been identified in Mayotte, he said.
The objective is also to expel illegal migrants, mostly from the neighboring archipelago of the Comoros, settled in particularly unhealthy neighborhoods, called “bangas”. “We will take the necessary time” for the destruction of these habitats, “always with the authorization of the judge, because it goes without saying that we relocate people in accordance with the law”, assured Gérald Darmanin.
Several associations, including the League for Human Rights (LDH), expressed concern in a joint press release that “France is thus placing minors in situations of intolerable vulnerability and danger”. Comorian President Azali Assoumani, for his part, told Agence France Presse that he hoped “that the operation will be canceled”, acknowledging “not having the means to stop (it) by force”. Intense negotiations have taken place in recent weeks between Moroni and Paris, raising the possibility of a last-minute agreement.
