The new Minister of Education, Gabriel Attal, apologized on Friday after a formulation that he considered “clumsy” during his trip to Reunion, referring to “significant immigration” of people from Mayotte, French department. “A sentence I uttered yesterday suggested that I wanted to link the installation of Mahorais in Reunion to immigration. Obviously, this was in no way my intention. My wording was therefore clumsy”, declared Gabriel Attal on X (formerly Twitter).
— Gabriel Attal (@GabrielAttal) August 18, 2023
“The Mahorais are fully French. This is what I said this morning to the elected officials of Mayotte with whom I spoke to apologize to them, as well as to the Mahorais. I will be going to this department soon to work there with all the actors of the educational community”, he added.
A statement during a visit to a primary school
During a visit Thursday to a primary school in La Possession (west of Reunion) on the occasion of the start of the new school year, the minister had declared to journalists that “it is a school which is also concerned by immigration large number of people of Mahoran or Comorian origin who are educated here, and at the start, this may have posed, not difficulties, but in any case questions with certain Reunionese families”.
“With mediation work by the mayor and his team, the city services, the rectorate services, we finally manage to build this mix and make it go well,” he added. This declaration, broadcast by the public television channel Réunion la 1ère, provoked strong reactions in Mayotte.
“The Mahorais are full-fledged French people”
“There is no ‘Mahorese immigration’ to Reunion. Except to consider your compatriots from the 101st department (French since 1841) as foreigners and to make politician com on our backs”, reacted on X Member of Parliament for Mayotte Estelle Youssouffa (Liot).
Mr. @Gabrielattal@education_gouv there is no’#immigration Mayotte” to #The meeting. Except to consider your compatriots from the 101st department (French since 1841) as foreigners and to make political com’ on our backs. Mtsssss #RaHachirihttps://t.co/di1nR5Yu0F
— Estelle Youssouffa MP (@DeputeeEstelle) August 18, 2023
On the far right, the leader of the National Rally deputies Marine Le Pen stressed that “there is no Mayotte immigration to Reunion”. “The Mahorais are full-fledged French people. But if you want to fight against illegal immigration, then defend the borders of Mayotte rather than denigrating them!”, She continued.