French President Emmanuel Macron announced a controversial migration plan to intercept boats, increase deportations, and build detention centers in Mayotte, measures progressive organizations deem “xenophobic” and a violation of human rights.

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France: Macron announces Iron Plan against immigrants

The French government prioritizes border militarization in the African archipelago while pledging to recognize Palestine, a strategy activists condemn as “double standards” on human rights.

Emmanuel Macron unveiled a migration containment plan on Monday for Mayotte, including boat interceptions, annual deportations of up to 35,000 people, and detention centers ,measures left-wing groups and migrant advocates denounce as a “criminalization of poverty.” The announcement coincides with France’s consideration of recognizing Palestine, raising questions about the coherence of its humanitarian policies.

The so-called “Iron Wall” involves deploying military teams and vessels to block migrants arriving from Tanzania and the Comoros, which account for a third of Mayotte’s 300,000 inhabitants. Organizations like Cimade argue these measures replicate “border externalization” policies that undermine asylum rights.

Macron said the objective is to more effectively block migrant arrivals and prevent boats from Tanzania and other nations from reaching Mayotte

“Social Cleansing” Operations in Impoverished Neighborhoods

The plan revives 2022 operations to “eradicate precarious neighborhoods” predominantly inhabited by Comorians, as denounced by migrant collectives. Macron justified the measures as addressing “migratory exceptionalism,” but local associations deem them a “silent ethnocide” against African communities.

While restricting migrants’ rights, Macron pledged imminent recognition of Palestine, a move progressive analysts view as a distraction from migration policy criticism. This contradiction, according to the Frantz Fanon Foundation, exposes a repackaged colonialism that instrumentalizes human rights.

Macron’s plan includes modifying droit du sol (birthright citizenship), which currently grants French nationality to those born in Mayotte, a measure the Human Rights League calls “institutionalized racism.” Mass deportations, according to the Euro-African Migration Network, would violate international conventions by prioritizing ethnic criteria over legal ones.

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