- Title: 'More than 25,000 deportations this year', Macron promises French island Mayotte
- Date: 22nd October 2019
- Summary: MAMOUDZOU, MAYOTTE, FRANCE (OCTOBER 22, 2019) (AGENCY POOL) VARIOUS OF FRENCH PRESIDENT, EMMANUEL MACRON, MEETING GENDARMES PART OF CIVIL-MILITARY OPERATION "SHIKANDRA" TO QUELL ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CROWD WAITING FOR MACRON TO GIVE SPEECH OPERATION "SHIKANDRA" PATCH ON SLEEVE OF SHIRT MACRON GREETING GENDARME CROWD HOLDING SIGNS TO WELCOME MACRON MACRON ARRIVING ON STAGE WITH MAMOUDZOU MAYOR, MOHAMED MAJANI (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, EMMANUEL MACRON, SAYING: "There will be more than 25,000 deportations carried out this year. That is the commitment taken by the ministers of interior and overseas territories in front of you. The (interior) minister made the trip to mobilise forces and the army is standing shoulder to shoulder with the interior security forces. We will carry out more than 25,000 deportations this year, I can tell you that. And therefore, there will be no lack of security in terms of the fight against illegal immigration." MACRON SPEAKING TO CROWD (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, EMMANUEL MACRON, SAYING: "We will do this work together because I need you for it so that together we can fight illegal employment and housing better. This won't be achieved in a day but we will do it all together." CROWD HOLDING SIGNS WELCOMING MACRON (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, EMMANUEL MACRON, SAYING: "France is about security. France is about healthcare. France is about education and young people. You are right and I know there are many mothers here who want quality education in Mayotte for their children. Here as well, we have a thousand possibilities, but why are we late? Because you need the infrastructure to do it. Therefore, not only do I confirm the funding but we will accelerate the implementation on the ground. Before the end of this presidential term, 800 new classrooms will be opened in Mayotte." CROWD CHEERING
- Embargoed: 5th November 2019 10:23
- Keywords: Mayotte French island Indian Ocean Emmanuel Macron illegal immigration French overseas territories
- Location: MAMOUDZOU, MAYOTTE, FRANCE
- City: MAMOUDZOU, MAYOTTE, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001B26IR7R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: President Emmanuel Macron began the first phase of his trip to France's overseas territories as he arrived on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte on Tuesday (October 22) to discuss illegal immigration and economic development.
Macron gave a speech in front of a few hundred people in Mayotte's capital coastal city of Mamoudzou saying he was committed to deporting 25,000 people who arrived on the island illegally.
Macron said he would review the measures of the "Shikandra" civil-military operation aimed at quelling illegal immigration to the island, of which nearly half the population is made up of foreigners many of whom illegal immigrants.
The French president faces an electoral threat from rivals on the populist right and is under pressure to crack down on migration.
Mayotte is a former French colony that voted against independence in referenda in 1974 and 1976. It stayed French, with a status allowing legal differences from the mainland. In March 2009, Mayotte's people voted overwhelmingly to become a full-fledged part of France.
The ties with mainland France have kept Mayotte richer and more stable than the coup-prone Indian Ocean state of Comoros, and many Comorians try to immigrate to Mayotte, which has begun deporting some of them.
To boost development on the island, Macron also said education would be improved with the opening of 800 new classrooms before the end of his five-year presidential term.
Macron will also head to the islands of Glorioso and Reunion as part of his overseas visit.
(Production: Martin Esposito and Pascale Antonie) - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None