Europe via the Indian Ocean? New wave of illegal immigration hits France's Mayotte

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By: Marjorie HACHE | Valentine PATRY | Renan HELLEC | Julien PRATT 7 min

French President Emmanuel Macron is currently visiting Mayotte, France's most impoverished department. Located in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Mozambique, the island is faced with daunting challenges: scarce water resources, sky-high birth rates, poverty, crime plus illegal immigration from neighboring Comoros. What's new is that asylum seekers from various war-torn regions now see Mayotte as a viable entry point into Europe, one that is thought to circumvent the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean. Our team reports.