France has said it is ready to use development aid as leverage against seven African countries to curb illegal migration to the French overseas department of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced the proposed measures during a visit to the island on August 26, saying Paris would introduce new “bonus-malus” criteria for part of its development assistance.
He spoke at the naval base in Dzaoudzi, opening a meeting of the operational command tasked with countering illegal arrivals. He was accompanied by six ministers, including interior minister Laurent Nuñez and armed forces minister Catherine Vautrin.
The countries concerned are the Comoros, Burundi, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia and Kenya.
The policy would link part of French aid to how closely governments cooperate with French authorities on migration enforcement.
The criteria outlined by the French PM include preventing departures, combating people-smuggling networks, issuing consular travel documents, accepting the return of their nationals, exchanging information and dismantling migration networks.
“Solidarity must go hand in hand with responsibility,” Lecornu said on X.
He argued that it was logical to give more support to a country that makes efforts to meet France’s expectations on migration than to one that is “deaf” to French demands or takes them too lightly.
Lecornu said he had asked the foreign ministry to draw up proposals for a first application in 2026 and a more structural version from 2027.
In 2024, French development assistance to the seven countries amounted to approximately €300 million.
The French Government has stressed, though, that direct humanitarian assistance to populations would not be affected.
“All humanitarian aid directly benefiting populations, including in theatres of war, is not being called into question,” Lecornu said, according to AFP.
The Comoros remains the principal source of illegal arrivals, while French authorities have also reported increasing migration from the Great Lakes region, particularly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
The Comoros lies about 70km from Mayotte and has never recognised French sovereignty over the archipelago.
According to Mayotte prefect Frédéric Poisot, French authorities had carried out 16,500 removals in 2026 as of August 26.
Paris is also planning to strengthen surveillance around the island.
The government intends to deploy additional drones, tethered surveillance balloons and interceptor vessels, with the number of vessels expected to rise from nine in 2026 to 13 by 2028. A detachment of the French Foreign Legion would also be deployed on the islet of M’tsamboro, in the northwest of the archipelago.
Lecornu said the number of interceptor vessels had grown from four in 2017, that four radars would be renewed and that a new aerial surveillance aircraft was due in September.
