The Scattered Islands, confetti at the heart of Franco-Malagasy litigation

Text by: Aurore Lartigue Follow

10 mins

Madagascar claims sovereignty over these islands scattered in the Indian Ocean and administered by France. Discussions have been open for a year to try to resolve this sensitive issue against the backdrop of strategic issues.

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To see them, you have to zoom in again and again until you get lost in the turquoise blue of the Indian Ocean, somewhere between Madagascar and the coasts of southern Africa. Zoom in, and zoom out, because several hundred kilometers separate the - aptly named - Scattered Islands from each other.

At the northern entrance to the Mozambique Channel, we first find the Glorioso Archipelago, some 200 kilometers from the Big Island; then going south, Juan de Nova, the closest to the Malagasy coast; next comes the almost perfect circle formed by the Bassas da India atoll, and the largest, Europa. The last, Tromelin and "his forgotten slaves" , is an exception. Located to the east of Madagascar, the island is also the subject of a territorial dispute, but this time between France and Mauritius.

Claimed since the 1970s

Almost uninhabited, these confetti of earth, formerly called "Residual Territories of the Republic", are in fact little bits of France, and this since their attachment to Madagascar when the island became in 1896 a French colony. Since 2005, they have been part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands ( TAAF ), like the Kerguelen or the Terre Adélie, and it is the prefect of the TAAF - currently the prefect Évelyne Decorps - who manages them from Reunion Island.

But since the mid-1970s, Antananarivo has disputed the sovereignty of these islands with Paris. Madagascar indeed considers that they have been separated from its territory by the game of incomplete decolonization and asks what it considers to be “  their restitution  ”. A claim '  p ar fectly based  " historically considered late June on RFI journalist Richard Labévière . “  It is clear that, before an arbitration court, it is a safe bet that France would lose this confrontation,  ” underlined the author of Reconquer par la mer.

Antananarivo has already brought its demands to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) [the ancestor of the African Union, editor's note] and the non-aligned movement. Until succeeding in having a resolution adopted at the United Nations in 1979 asking the "  French government to start negotiations without further delay for the reintegration of the islands [...] arbitrarily separated from Madagascar  ". In its argument, the UN underlined "  the need to scrupulously respect the national unity and the territorial integrity of a colonial territory at the time of its accession to independence  ". A victory that had no effect, the UN resolution being non-binding.

"  The legal problem of the Scattered Islands is closed,  " nevertheless said Raymond Ranjeva in an interview with the magazine Jeune Afrique last November. Referring to “  a truncated decolonization  ”, this former president of the International Court of Justice explained how the fate of this set of islands had played out a few weeks before Madagascar's official declaration of independence, when on April 1, 1960 , General de Gaulle had signed a decree attaching them to the French overseas ministry . The result: on June 26, 1960, when the Big Island gained independence, the Éparses remained in the French fold.

"A question of national identity"

For more than four decades, this sensitive issue has been revived, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, according to electoral promises. On May 29, 2019, it was President Andry Rajoelina, visiting Paris, who put the subject back on the table by declaring: “  Today , there is still a reality that hurts us. Belonging to the Scattered Islands is a question of national identity. I solemnly and officially ask the President to find a solution for the management or restitution of the Scattered Islands in Madagascar  ”. Emmanuel Macron, in response, said he was prepared to "  a dialogue to reach a common solution  ". The process is relaunched, a joint commission is created. And a deadline is even set to reach an agreement, very symbolic: June 26, 2020, the day of the sixtieth anniversary of the independence of the island.

Enough to rekindle hope in Antananarivo and provoke the ire of certain French elected officials who fear seeing France's sovereignty over this “sold off” territory. But since then, the fateful date has passed and the case has hardly advanced.

► To read also: Scattered Islands: a look back at a year of deadlock between France and Madagascar

It must be said that on October 23, Emmanuel Macron's stopover at Grande Glorieuse showered Malagasy hopes and somewhat cooled the atmosphere of the negotiations. “  Here, it's France, it's our pride, our wealth. It is not an empty idea. The scientists and soldiers who are there remind us. France is an archipelago country, a world country  ”, had launched the French president on the white sand beach of the islet, before announcing the classification of part of the archipelago in national nature reserve.

Look at this landscape of Glorieuse Island. This hotspot of our biodiversity is in danger. It's up to us to protect it: pic.twitter.com/sUiAHPGaKg

“  Yet if, in a column in the newspaper Le Monde, the lawyer Philippe Disaine Rakotondramboahova had reacted , to  say“ this is mine ”, in spite of geography, history and international law is indeed an“ empty idea ” ”, Even a provocation, as is perceived by the Malagasy people.  "

640,000 km2 of exclusive economic zone

But why so much fervor around these some 43 km² of sand and pebbles? Because it is not only "  the beach  ", as French President Emmanuel Macron recalled during his visit. Far from there. Admittedly in terms of emerged lands, their surface is barely equivalent to a small French town, but they represent no less than 640,000 km² of exclusive economic zone (EEZ), or 6% of the maritime territory of France. Enough to ensure its status as the second maritime domain in the world. This is done by virtue of the 1982 Montego Bay International Convention on the Law of the Sea which, as a reminder, allows a country to exercise sovereign rights in matters of exploration and use of resources over an area which extends from the coast to 200 nautical miles (a little over 370 kilometers). 

In addition, four of these islands are located on a sensitive sea route: the Mozambique Channel. At the crossroads between Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, this is where 30% of the world's oil passes. Which makes them (with Mayotte, also at the center of a territorial dispute) highly strategic points for Paris. 

Not to mention that the oceanic subsoils that line these immense EEZs would contain large stocks of hydrocarbons, gases and other highly coveted minerals. A few years ago, a report by the United States Geological Survey called the area "the  next potential North Sea  ". “Potential” resources, since they have never been exploited. Prospecting studies were indeed undertaken, but never followed up. In 2017, France adopted a law banning oil exploration and exploitation on its territory. The pre-existing permits, like that of the company Marex Petroleum around Juan de Nova, could still be continued. But Emmanuel Macron has since announced his non-renewal.

"Jewels of biodiversity"

Today, the priority therefore seems to be the preservation of these islands, which have remained almost sheltered from human influence, and often qualified as “  jewels of biodiversity  ”. Only fourteen soldiers and a gendarme take turns there every 45 days to ensure the sovereignty of France, but also their protection, access being strictly regulated and subject to prior authorization by the prefect.

The only people admitted to this sanctuary are the scientists who carry out regular missions. Les Éparses is home to the highest concentration of sea turtles, in particular the green turtle which comes to lay each year on Europa Island, whose 700 hectare mangrove swamp is also classified. They serve as a refuge for seabirds. And underwater, the coral reefs are in a very good state of conservation. Enough to also make Les Éparses a laboratory for observing climate change. Thanks to scientific stations, studies are being carried out to measure climate change and its impact on biodiversity. Listed since 1975, the French state is now trying to further strengthen this protection. 

But however rich they may be, these islands are nonetheless extremely fragile, according to scientists. And they would hardly resist the development of fishing (today totally banned over 12 nautical miles). On the other hand, this very small reservoir with exceptional biodiversity has the capacity to stock the coasts of Madagascar and continental Africa, thus ensuring the renewal of fishery resources for all the surrounding countries.

► To read also: What treasures hide the Scattered Islands?

"  The environmental stake is the most important  ", recognized on June 1, 2019, on the antenna of RFI, the former Malagasy Minister of Foreign Affairs Naina Andriantsitohaina. But, he himself conceded: “  Since we have to be frank, Madagascar today does not have the means to secure this area. We have many other priorities such as education, health… and even if maritime safety is an important element of the president's program, it primarily concerns securing 5,000 kilometers of coastline, because we want to First, prevent our coasts and natural resources from being plundered.  "

What would happen then if Madagascar obtained sovereignty over these islands? Behind the scenes, some say they fear a "  plunder  " of resources, an "  ecological disaster  ", Antananarivo not having the means to ensure the protection of this highly sensitive area.

Cooperation

On November 18, two delegations - one French, the other Malagasy - met as planned in Antananarivo. But, according to the press release issued at the end of the meeting, they  were content to “  record the existence, at this stage, of a dispute over the question of sovereignty. "Each party justifying the legitimacy of its sovereignty by arguing about"  international law  ". "  The restitution of the sovereignty of Madagascar [...] constitutes a question which must be approached before the examination and adoption of a common development solution  ", explained the Malagasy team. While "  the head of the French delegation presented France's proposals in favor of common development prospects in this area  ". Everyone therefore remained stuck in their positions.

Since then, almost nothing. The appointment of a new Malagasy Minister of Foreign Affairs and then the coronavirus pandemic prevented the organization of any new meeting. On May 11, Andry Rajoelina came to restore water to the mill, arguing without ambiguity for a "  quick solution that will satisfy the demand for restitution  ". But the same day, in France, the Ministry of Ecological Transition launched a public consultation to materialize the project to create a "national nature reserve of the Glorious Archipelago". Consequence: the French ambassador was summoned by the Malagasy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

About sixty deputies asked for mediation from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which at the end of June supported Antananarivo's request. For its part, Paris, through the voice of its Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, ruled out any abandonment of its sovereignty, but paved the way for cooperation in the field of fisheries, maritime security and preservation of the environment.

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• Madagascar
• France
• Diplomacy
• Andry Rajoelina
• Emmanuel Macron
• Oceans
• Environment
• Disputed territories

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