Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and current Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu are making separate visits to the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte. The overlapping trips highlight the growing political focus on the overseas territory ahead of the next French presidential election.
Philippe decided to make his political return on Mayotte and the neighbouring island of La Reunion. Meanwhile, Lecornu scheduled a last-minute official visit to the archipelago for next Wednesday and Thursday.
Mayotte is a French overseas department and archipelago located in the Mozambique Channel off the coast of East Africa, between Madagascar and northern Mozambique. Political debate in the territory is dominated by heavy immigration, public security concerns, reconstruction following Cyclone Chido in December 2024, and the gradual alignment of local social rights with mainland France.
The island has also become an electoral stronghold for Marine Le Pen and her far-right National Rally party. Le Pen secured nearly 60 percent of the vote in Mayotte during the second round of the 2022 presidential election, and the National Rally won a legislative constituency on the island in 2024.
Hardline proposals on immigration
Addressing presidential candidates, Estelle Youssouffa, a deputy representing the Freedom, Independents, Overseas and Territories parliamentary group, said Mayotte was Ceuta and Melilla squared. Her comment referred to the Spanish enclave cities located on the North African coast that serve as primary entry points for migration into Europe.
In response to local concerns, Philippe has toughened his rhetoric on immigration. Speaking to the local newspaper France Mayotte matin, the former prime minister said that building Mayotte's future required completely closing off immigration rather than taking half measures.
Philippe stated that the registration of any new asylum applications in Mayotte should be suspended throughout the next five-year presidential term. He added that as long as the territory remained saturated, this route for immigration would stay closed to new applicants.
Regarding birthright citizenship, Philippe said France needed to go even further and suspend the measure entirely for several years. An elected official from his centre-right party, Horizons, told the daily newspaper Le Figaro that hard-hitting statements were necessary to prevent voters from drifting further toward Marine Le Pen.
Lecornu's official mission
Lecornu is making his first visit to the archipelago as prime minister. The French government delegation includes Overseas Territories Minister Naima Moutchou, who is a prominent figure within Philippe's Horizons party.
Officially, the prime minister is visiting to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the future of the archipelago and to explain delays in delivering government financial commitments.
Unofficially, political observers view the visit as an effort to counter Philippe, who continues to distance himself from the political record of French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the presidential race.
