Visiting Mayotte, Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally (RN), expressed her dissatisfaction with her German ally, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), for having questioned the island's belonging to France . The AfD raised this issue in a written question to the Bundestag, calling on the federal government to comment on UN resolutions regarding the return of Mayotte to the Union of the Comoros.
Le Pen stressed that the AfD would be better off focusing on Germany's internal problems rather than intervening in French affairs. She recalled that the Mahorais have repeatedly expressed their desire to remain French, through referendums in 1974, 1976 and 2009, the latter resulting in the transformation of Mayotte into a French department.
Tensions between the two parties in the European Parliament, grouped under the label “Identity and Democracy”, are exacerbated by recent disagreements, notably over a plan for mass expulsion of foreigners proposed by the AfD in Germany, to which Le Pen strongly opposed.
Furthermore, Le Pen criticized the French government for its diplomatic inaction towards the Comoros, accusing the latter of seeking to recover Mayotte through immigration. She called for retaliatory measures such as freezing the assets of Comorian leaders and removing visas.
In response to a recent security operation in Mayotte, Le Pen deplored the lack of concrete results from the French executive in the fight against insecurity and irregular immigration on the island, highlighting the urgent need for action effective in responding to the concerns of the Mahorais.
Two nationalist parties with different national ambitions and frictions may be impossible to reconcile under one group in the European parliament. If Rassemblement National and the AfD were to continue together in the ID, this would only be possible if the AfD would acknowledge the leading role of the French. This is unlikely to fly in the AfD, where they often bemoan Le Pen’s arrogance. It is hard for nationalist parties to work together.
