A new operation against insecurity, irregular immigration and unsanitary housing was launched this Tuesday in Mayotte, a year after the start of a first intervention called “Wuambushu”, announced the French Ministry of Overseas Affairs. Some 1,700 gendarmes, police and soldiers must be engaged for this operation, called “Mayotte place net” and which must last eleven weeks.
In the 101st French department, around “a hundred specialized reinforcements (…), in particular border police officers and judicial police officers (…) will help us carry out this precision work”, underlined the ministry. “We have 60 particularly wanted individuals and a target of 1,300 bangas (huts) to destroy, twice as much as Wuambushu 1 allowed us to do,” he added.
5 million euros for emergency accommodation for illegal immigrants
An envelope of five million euros has been released for the emergency accommodation of migrants arrested as part of the operation. Normally, 1,600 gendarmes and police officers are already stationed on this small archipelago in the Indian Ocean of 350,000 inhabitants, or “more than cities like Nice, Montpellier and Rennes combined”, specifies the ministry.
“Mayotte Place Nette” follows on from Operation Wuambushu launched in spring 2023, which already aimed to fight against illegal immigration, delinquency and destroy the unsanitary huts organized into shanty towns, which are increasingly numerous on the island. . Handicapped by a chaotic start, Wuambushu did not have the expected results. During February, a new prefect was appointed to prepare his successor, François-Xavier Bieuville.
Increase in violence
“For a month, we have been doing preparation work with the actors who experienced Wuambushu 1. We have learned lessons from it. And we brought in teams from mainland France to further structure the sectors where we fished. Reinforcements in the operational, legal, consulting and planning fields come as reinforcements in order to engage more appropriate means,” he declared on Monday.
Recent days have been marked by an increase in violence in Mayotte, where motorists are stoned on a daily basis, as are clashes between gangs of young people from rival villages. The company managing the school transport network notably mentioned a “record” of stone stones last week.