Overview

• Manuel Valls, Minister for Overseas Territories, describes Mayotte as 'nécrosé' by immigration, with 50% of its population being foreign, mostly in irregular status.
• Valls advocates for enhanced detection systems and aims to increase deportations from 25,000 to 35,000 annually, citing the destruction of some monitoring infrastructure by Cyclone Chido.
• The French Assembly will debate stricter conditions for birthright citizenship in Mayotte on February 6, including requiring both parents to have legal residency for at least a year.
• Valls supports the revised 'Valls Circular' tightening rules on undocumented immigrant regularization, while maintaining limited pathways for essential labor needs.
• Mayotte faces recovery challenges post-cyclone, with only 158 of 221 schools ready for reopening on January 27, and plans for some students to relocate to mainland France for education.