After the dismissal of his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antananarivo asked for the cancellation of the meeting scheduled for November 2 and 3 in Paris
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The second meeting of the Franco-Malgache mixed commission supposed to rule on the future of the Eparses islands that the two countries have been competing for for more than fifty years, is postponed Sine Die. Scheduled for November 2 and 3 in Paris, she was canceled at the request of Madagascar following the dismissal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Richard Randriamatto. The one who was to conduct the Malagasy delegation was removed from his functions on October 18 for having, according to the presidency, made alone the decision to vote for the resolution condemning the annexation of the Ukrainian territories by Russia. A turnaround that had surprised, while the Big Island of the Indian Ocean has not ruled out a position of neutrality since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February.
On the French side, the Quai d’Orsay is limited to indicating that it awaits “the appointment of a Malagasy foreign minister to find a date that suits the two ministers”. The Minister of Defense, Richard Rakotonirina, acting, was obviously not deemed able to replace his colleague who dismissed on this thorny file at the foot. It seems that the composition of the delegation is also the subject of difficult internal arbitrations.
In any case, three years after the only meeting – in November 2019 – of this dialogue body wanted by Emmanuel Macron and Andry Rajoelina, the discussions are in a standstill. The deadline of June 26, 2020, date of the 60
Franco-Malgache quarrel
At the end of the Pandemic of Covid-19 which, for two years, justified the lack of prosecution of negotiations, the Paris meeting had, at least, to send the signal that “the continuous process”, according to an observer French. Without any advances being expected. Antananarivo continues to put on the table the United Nations resolutions voted in 1979. These ask France to “start without further delay negotiations for the reintegration of the glorious islands, Juan de Nova, Europa and Bassas da India , which have been arbitrarily separated from Madagascar “. These lands located in the Mozambique canal form, with Tromelin – claimed by Maurice to France -, the archipelago of the Eparses.
The Franco-Malgache quarrel is not the only territorial dispute from colonization which agitates bilateral relations in the region. Maurice also claims the Chagos archipelago in the United Kingdom and obtained recognition of his rights to the International Court of Justice and a United Nations resolution agreed in 2019. The Comoros, also strong of several United Nations resolutions , dispute Mayotte to France. The former colonial powers have always refused to comply with international verdicts.