The president of Madgascar is in Paris to Talk about the Disputed Islets in the Indian Ocean
In order to discuss the future of the long-disputed Scattered Islands with French President Emmanuel Macron, Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina came in Paris on Monday. When Madagascar was a French colony, it included the five small islets in the Indian Ocean, which together cover about 43 square kilometres.
Madagascar wants them back after they were divided off when the island nation became independent in 1960. However, France is adamant on keeping control of the strategically important but uninhabited islands, which are protected natural areas. Not just for their symbolic and ecological value, but also for the authority they provide over large, resource-rich ocean areas.
These little islands give France control over an incredible 640,000 km² of oceanic area, or around 6% of the whole maritime domain, which is teeming with fish and potential gas deposits. The issue is because they have symbolic significance for Madagascar, which has long disputed their separation. The reintegration of the islets into Madagascar was approved by United Nations votes in 1979 and 1980.
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