What is contained in the emergency bill for Mayotte presented this Wednesday in the Council of Ministers

The bill for the reconstruction of Mayotte is presented this Wednesday to the Council of Ministers, a text which will notably make it possible to waive urban planning rules for two years but which is criticized by elected officials accusing it of not tackling the slums. .

Another project coming within three months

According to the explanatory memorandum of the emergency bill for Mayotte, devastated on December 14 by Cyclone Chido, the objective is to allow public actors to “restore the living conditions of the inhabitants” while “preparing for reconstruction » from the small French archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

For longer-term measures, particularly around questions of immigration, security and economic development, the government is planning another draft “program law” which will be developed within three months, indicates Matignon.

Exception “for two years” to town planning rules

According to the same source, Wednesday’s text aims to derogate “for two years” from the town planning rules and public markets, to facilitate the reconstruction of schools but also infrastructure and housing.

The law thus provides that “constructions for emergency accommodation built in Mayotte (…) after December 14, 2024 and until the expiration of a period of two years following the publication of this law (… ) are exempt from any formality under the town planning code.

Schools: the State will be able to ensure construction

Concerning schoolshard hit while Mayotte is the youngest department in France with one in two inhabitants underage, the project provides that “the State or one of its public establishments” can ensure their construction, reconstruction or renovation in place of communities local until December 31, 2027.

To carry out this mission, the text provides to expand the missions of the public land and development establishment of Mayotte (EPFAM) to entrust him with “the mission of coordinating the reconstruction work of Mayotte”. A personality must be appointed at its head, according to Matignon.

On landwhile it is often difficult to formally identify the owners of land in Mayotte, the text provides for deviating from the usual rules and being able to expropriate before an owner has been identified, even if it means compensating them retrospectively.

Extension of the rights of socially insured and unemployed people

The text will also contain several economic measures which will remain in force “until March 31, 2025”, such as the suspension of the collection of social security contributions from self-employed workers, the extension of the rights of socially insured and unemployed people or the increase in coverage for partial unemployment.

“The text is unacceptable because it provides no response to the real emergencies of Mayotte”

Nothing about precarious housing

Nothing, however, on precarious housing, although François Bayrou had promised during his trip at the end of December to “prevent the reconstruction” of shanty towns in Mayotte. “The text is unacceptable because it provides no response to the real emergencies of Mayotte”, believes the former deputy and LR vice-president in charge of Overseas Mansour Kamardine, calling for “a measure which includes the ban on slums” in the archipelago.

For her part, Liot MP from Mayotte Estelle Youssouffa, without commenting on the emergency bill, demanded that “Mayotte entrepreneurs be given priority over contracts” for the reconstruction of the archipelago.

Examination in session at the Assembly on January 20?

According to parliamentary sources, the text will go to the Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly on January 13, the day the Assembly resumes activity. Its examination in committee could continue on Tuesday, before an examination of the text in session on January 20.

Chido, the most devastating cyclone in Mayotte in 90 years, caused the death of at least 39 people on December 14 and left more than 5,600 injured, according to the latest report published by the authorities.