Comoros has condemned as "unbearably condescending" remarks by French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu that Paris could make development aid conditional on greater cooperation in curbing irregular migration to the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte.
Mayotte, the poorest of France's 101 departments, stayed with Paris when the rest of the Comoros archipelago gained independence in 1975, but the island is still claimed by the Union of Comoros.
Lecornu, on a two-day visit to the island, said Wednesday that they would make development aid provided to the Comoros and six African countries conditional on their cooperation with France in the fight against migration.
Speaking at the Dzaoudzi naval base as he opened a meeting of the military command overseeing the fight against illegal immigration, Lecornu said aid would be tied to the countries' "capacity to take back undocumented migrants" and their participation "in the fight against people-smugglers".
Targeting seven countries
"The remarks made by Mr Lecornu regarding the much-discussed development aid are unbearably condescending," Comorian Foreign Minister Mohamed Mbae told AFP late Thursday.
He said that the prime minister's statement was "surprising in several respects".
"It is completely out of context with regard to the expectations of the population of the Comorian island of Mayotte," he said, referring to Cyclone Chido, which devastated the island in 2024.
France is targeting seven countries - Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya - whose nationals have increasingly travelled to Mayotte in search of better economic opportunities.
A significant proportion of the archipelago's 323,000 residents, according to figures from France's national statistics office INSEE as of January 1, 2026, are foreign nationals. They accounted for nearly half of the population in 2017.
Dispute sovereignty
Comoros disputes French sovereignty over Mayotte and says its citizens cannot be treated as foreigners or expelled from what it considers its own territory.
Lecornu's remarks drew condemnation from across the political spectrum.
Opposition party Ushe accused France of "appalling blackmail", while the civil society group Comite Maore called the policy an "unacceptable blackmail" and accused Paris of pursuing a neo-colonial approach.
"To claim to be 'our friend' whilst maintaining colonial occupation of the Comorian island of Mayotte is an intolerable hypocrisy," Ushe said in a statement.
