Mayotte's Future Depends on Education, Not More Restrictions on Migrant Rights

Students return to school this week in France’s overseas department of Mayotte. For most, the start of the academic year is a return to overcrowded schools that are often ill-equipped to meet their basic needs, and an education system that continues to fail thousands of children. A devastating cyclone in December 2024 worsened already persistent deficiencies in Mayotte’s education system. Efforts to rebuild classrooms have not successfully addressed these challenges, and many schools continue to operate on rotation systems. Even before the cyclone, thousands of children were excluded from education, a consequence of burdensome enrolment procedures and other barriers. At the start of the 2025 school year, the Mayotte Observatory on School Exclusion found that more than 15,000 school-age children were not in school, continuing a worrying upward trend. Others attend schools in conditions that fall short of basic standards, including access to water, sanitation, nutritious food, and a safe learning environment. Rather than addressing these persistent failures, political leaders have blamed Mayotte’s structural challenges on migration. Immediately after the cyclone, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to restrict undocumented migration, mainly from Comoros and East Africa. Just before students returned to school this week, Edouard Philippe, a former French Prime Minister and a 2027 presidential candidate, declared that he would suspend access to asylum droit du sol, the principle of citizenship by birth on French territory, and immigration based on family ties in Mayotte. These proposals are presented as solutions to the many challenges facing France's poorest department. Yet many of Mayotte's difficulties stem from longstanding structural inequalities, chronic underinvestment in public services, and exceptional laws that apply only on the island, including restrictive citizenship and immigration measures. Such policies have done little to improve living conditions or address the lack of access to housing, water, electricity, healthcare, and education faced by many residents, including children. They also raise serious legal concerns, as they conflict with protections guaranteed under French constitutional law, European Union law, and international human rights standards. As Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu begins two days in Mayotte, French authorities should move beyond migration-focused rhetoric and announce concrete measures to guarantee economic and social rights for all residents. Ensuring every child can go to school would be a far more meaningful investment in Mayotte's future than further restricting fundamental rights.