Why is France revoking birthright citizenship in Mayotte?
Al Jazeera
France announces constitutional amendment aimed at curbing immigration in its overseas territory near Madagascar.
France has announced a controversial plan to amend the constitution to restrict citizenship to people born to immigrants in the overseas territory of Mayotte in a move aimed at curbing immigration to the Indian Ocean islands.
The move has been welcomed by the far-right but opposed by socialists who say birthright citizenship rule is “non-negotiable”. Leftist leaders fear the constitutional amendment will open Pandora’s box as the far right will try to emulate it in mainland France.
The announcement comes less than three weeks after France’s highest court scrapped large parts of a new immigration law designed to toughen access to welfare benefits for foreigners and curb immigration – a hot potato in the country.
Here is more about Mayotte – an archipelago between Madagascar and the African mainland – and why the change has triggered controversy.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Sunday announced that children of immigrants born in Mayotte, comprising of two islands, would no longer automatically become French citizens.
