Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina commenced high-stakes talks with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday, centring on the contested sovereignty of the Scattered Islands (Îles Éparses).
These five minuscule islets, totalling just 43 square kilometres in the Indian Ocean, were administratively detached from Madagascar upon its independence from France in 1960, a separation Antananarivo has persistently contested.
France maintains firm control over the uninhabited archipelago, citing its status as a protected ecological sanctuary and its strategic value. Beyond environmental significance, the islands anchor France’s jurisdictional claim over 640,000 km² of resource-rich maritime territory containing abundant fisheries and potential hydrocarbon reserves.
For Madagascar, however, their return carries profound symbolic weight, representing unfinished decolonisation. The dispute remains unresolved despite two United Nations General Assembly resolutions in 1979 and in 1980, explicitly declaring that the islets “should be reintegrated into Madagascar.”
Rajoelina’s visit signals renewed diplomatic pressure to honour these resolutions, though Paris shows no indication of relinquishing control. Analysts note France’s military installations on Tromelin and Europa Islands underscore their role in monitoring Indian Ocean shipping lanes.
While France designates the islands as nature reserves, critics argue ecological stewardship masks strategic interests. The talks unfold amid growing African scrutiny of France’s residual colonial footprint, lending moral weight to Madagascar’s claim even as geopolitical leverage remains asymmetrical.
