Mayotte

Mayotte is a French archipelago in the Indian Ocean, located in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and the African continent, 8,000 km from Paris. Composed of two main islands — Grande-Terre (Maore, 363 km²) and Petite-Terre (Pamandzi, 11 km²) — and around thirty islets, it is surrounded by a 1,500 km² lagoon, one of the largest in the world, enclosed by a double coral barrier 195 km in circumference. It became the 101st French department in March 2011 after several referendums — France 8,000 km from Paris, in a unique tropical enclave.

The island owes its beauty to its eroded volcanic relief (highest point Mount Bénara, 660 m), its dense mangrove (3,000 hectares, the richest in the western Indian Ocean), its turquoise lagoon populated with corals, turtles, dolphins and humpback whales, and its white and black sand beaches alternating along the coast. Lac Dziani, on Petite-Terre, is a volcanic crater filled with emerald-green water, one of Mayotte's most singular landscapes. The paradise islets (Choizil, Mtsamboro, Bandrélé, M'Bouzi) are accessible by boat.

But Mayotte is above all a deeply Mahoran island, where 95% of the population is Sunni Muslim (Shafi'i rite), where Shimaore (Bantu language) and Kibushi (Malagasy dialect) are spoken alongside French, and where the traditional way of life — voulés (traditional weddings), shungu (mutual aid system), feast meals in banga (traditional dwelling) — remains vibrant. The island is famous for its ylang-ylang, the "flower of flowers" which provides one of the most precious essences in world perfumery (Mayotte is the second-largest producer in the world), for its artisanal vanilla ("Mayotte vanilla", rival to Bourbon vanilla), and for its jackfruit, mango and clove trees that perfume the island. The contrast between African-Malagasy cultural heritage and French department status makes it one of the most singular destinations in the French portfolio — total escape 8,000 km from Paris, without a visa, in EUR, with social security.