The French interior minister said Sunday, February 11, the government planned to amend the Constitution to revoke birthright citizenship on the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, the poorest part of the country, which has been struggling with social unrest and a crippling migration crisis.
Mayotte is composed of two islands that voted to stay part of France in 1973, while the others in the surrounding Muslim-majority archipelago sought independence, becoming the Comoros Islands. Thousands of Comorans fleeing the poverty and corruption of their homeland make the trip across to Mayotte in search of higher living standards every year.
The influx has caused major tensions, with many locals on Mayotte complaining about crime and poverty. For the past three weeks activists have been staging strikes and erecting roadblocks to protest against the lack of security and the migration crisis. A months-long water crisis has also exacerbated tensions.
"We are going to take a radical decision," Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told reporters on a visit to the island on Sunday. "It will no longer be possible to become French if you are not the child of a French parent," he added. He said the measure would require a change to the Constitution and would reduce "the attractiveness" of the archipelago for prospective migrants.
In Mayotte's capital Mamoudzou, several hundred protesters greeted Darmanin and his entourage with boos and shouts of "Mayotte is angry."
The left slammed the latest proposal. The head of the Socialist MPs in the Assemblée Nationale, Boris Vallaud, said his party would oppose the revision of the constitution. "Birthright citizenship is not negotiable," he told broadcaster France 3. Green MP Aurélien Taché, speaking on BFMTV, said the proposal was "extremely serious": "If this provision is enacted and if Marine Le Pen then comes to power, it will be the end of birthright citizenship in France."
Mayotte, which lies northwest of Madagascar, became a full-fledged French department in 2011. According to France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the 375-square kilometer island is home to around 310,000 people, but officials say this figure is seriously underestimated. Nearly half of island residents do not have French nationality. According to INSEE, more than 40% of the islanders survive on less than €160 per month.
Residence permits issued in Mayotte are only valid on the island and cannot be used to travel to mainland France. The scrapping of the system is one of the protesters' main demands. Darmanin said authorities would abolish the measure as part of the reform.
A hot-button issue in France, immigration regularly inflames the political class. In December, Parliament passed a tough immigration bill adopted under pressure from the right and far right. In January, France's top constitutional authority rejected many additions made under insistence from the right and far right.