Presidential Hopeful Édouard Philippe Visits Mayotte, Vows to End Immigration 'Appel d'Air'

Horizons party leader and 2027 presidential candidate Édouard Philippe made his first visit to Mayotte his political 'rentrée,' pledging to suspend the registration of new asylum applications, birthright citizenship, and family reunification in the overseas department for a five-year term if elected. The former prime minister visited the Pamandzi administrative detention center and the Tsoundzou 2 camp, home to more than a thousand asylum seekers, and proposed creating a return center in East Africa, arguing the priority is to close the immigration 'pull factor' driving migration from the Comoros and East Africa.