Azali Assoumani, President of the Comoros, elected President of the African Union on February 18, and Emmanuel Macron on July 22, 2019 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. IAN LANGSDON v AFP
A little one among the big ones. The Comoros and their less than one million people control the continent. Azali Assoumani became the new current President of the African Union (AU) on Saturday 18 February. It is the first time that an island nation with limited diplomatic clout has been given such a level of responsibility.
“We are demonstrating through this position that African islands have their full place and legitimacy in the affairs of the continent,” said Youssouf Assoumani, the Comorian ambassador to the AU. Until then, the rotating presidency had traditionally been reserved for the “big” African nations. Although the Comoros embassy in Addis Ababa has been reinforced, several diplomats question the archipelago’s ability to carry out the mission.
In fact, Moroni almost saw that opportunity slip away at the last moment. Kenya — also a member of the East African bloc vying for the 2023 presidency — has long presented a rival candidacy. Nairobi eventually withdrew it after a series of negotiations and a discreet request from France. Paris has been active behind the scenes to curb the ambitions of William Ruto, the newly elected president of Kenya, and leave the field open to the archipelago.
“There is an opportunity for us, the Comoros, to play a mediating role. We can send messages, especially in the Sahel where Mali has problems with France,” a Comorian official said
If France is interested in the prospect of a Comorian presidency, it is because the two capitals are close to each other. The numerous trips made by Head of State Azali Assoumani to the Elysée bear witness to this – five times in the past three years.
“First, France wanted to avoid discord within the AU,” admits a Comorian official. Then there is an opportunity for us Comoros to play a mediating role. We can send messages, especially in the Sahel where Mali has problems with France. In addition to this offer of mediation, Paris also believes that Moroni has the advantage of being one of the few African countries that has openly opposed the Russian-led war in Ukraine. Most countries on the continent have opted for non-alignment.
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The two capitals are both partners and locked in an inextricable crisis affecting the French island of Mayotte, which Moroni claims as the fourth component of the Comoros archipelago. “My government would like to recall the Comorian character of the island of Mayotte, which was stripped of Comorian sovereignty more than forty years ago,” said President Assoumani during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last September.
An “incestuous relationship” with Paris
Unlike the other three islands in the archipelago, Mayotte voted to remain in France in 1976. But the United Nations, invalidating this vote, issued twenty non-binding resolutions calling for the island to be returned to the Comoros. Vain. Instead of complying with the UN request, France offers financial and political support to the archipelago.
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The ambivalence of the Franco-Comorian relationship annoys Mahora circles. “The relationship between France and the Comoros is incestuous and unhealthy and is at the expense of Mayotte,” protested Estelle Youssouffa, MP for Liberties, Independents, Overseas and Territories (LIOT) of Mayotte’s first constituency. “The adjustment variable of Comorian politics is Mayotte. It is a territorial claims project that uses a migration lever to achieve its goals. »
“L’île aux parfums” is both the poorest French department and the one facing the most acute migration crisis. According to a 2019 INSEE study, almost half of Mayotte’s population has foreign nationality, mostly Comoros. The Comoros have no hesitation in using this card to maintain a balance of power with Paris. In recent years, Moroni has sometimes refused to take in people deported to its borders on the pretext that the Comoros are “home” in Mayotte.
In 2022, with Moroni’s approval, 25,380 Comorian migrants were deported to the border. Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna assured the National Assembly in 2022 that “good relations with the Comoros (…) are necessary to combat migratory pressures on Mayotte”. “We must deepen diplomatic cooperation with the Union of Comoros to limit irregular migration to Mayotte,” a Senate report for 2021 also recommends.
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On Monday 23 January, many representatives of the island (deputies, members of the departmental council, the association of mayors, trade unions and the employers’ movement) published a text in Le Monde in which they criticized the “housing strategy” of the Quai d’Orsay with the Comoros, they accused the French government of “subsidizing Comoros and forgetting Mayotte”.
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France is investing heavily in the archipelago. The French development agency has planned to provide 150 million euros over three years. France also finances 40% of the budget (1.4 million euros) of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), a regional cooperation platform. In order to spare the Comoros, Paris only participates in the COI for the island of Reunion, excluding Mayotte.
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“The Quai d’Orsay could get stuck if Azali Assoumani used the AU platform against Mayotte,” warns Estelle Youssouffa. As a result, the Comorian demands have recently received unexpected support. Sergei Lavrov, head of Russia’s diplomacy, is embroiled in controversy. “France still retains control and sovereignty over the Comorian island of Mayotte, despite numerous UN General Assembly resolutions calling on Paris to return it to the Comoros,” Russia’s foreign minister said on February 3. With the AU taking over the helm, the island in the Indian Ocean finds itself in the middle of the struggle for influence on the continent.