Proposal to restrict citizenship on Mayotte splits French politics

Emmanuel Macron has been accused of walking a dangerous legal and political tightrope with a proposal to restrict access to French nationality for people born to immigrant parents on the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte.

- Kim Willsher

The far-right has welcomed the move, which critics say breaches fundamental constitutional rights, and insisted it should be applied to the whole of France.

The interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, announced the change during a visit to the island, the country's poorest region, at the weekend after three weeks of protests.

"We are going to take a radical decision. It will no longer be possible to become French if you are not the child of a French parent," Darmanin said, adding that the measure would reduce the "attractiveness" of the archipelago to prospective immigrants.

"It is an extremely strong, clear, radical measure, which obviously will be limited to the Mayotte archipelago," Darmanin said.

France grants citizenship through parentage (droit du sang) and birthplace (droit du sol). The proposal risks escalating tensions in France after the adoption of a new immigration law.