Dzaoudzi

Dzaoudzi served as Mayotte's capital until 1977, when the prefecture relocated to Mamoudzou on Grande-Terre. Situated on Petite-Terre (the archipelago's smaller island connected to Pamandzi), Dzaoudzi retains administrative and military significance despite ceding economic primacy. The commune hosts the airport and ferry terminus connecting the two islands—critical infrastructure given that thousands commute daily across the lagoon. As France's poorest department faces the aftermath of Cyclone Chido (December 2024), which killed hundreds and destroyed vast informal settlements, Dzaoudzi's relatively more developed infrastructure provided shelter for displaced persons. The broader migration crisis—100,000 of Mayotte's 320,000 residents are undocumented Comorians—concentrates in Mamoudzou's slums, but Dzaoudzi processes arrivals and deportations that France intensified in 2024 with Operation Wuambushu 2. The 70-kilometer crossing from Comoros remains one of the world's deadliest migration routes per capita. By 2026, Dzaoudzi's role as administrative gateway becomes more contested as France attempts to reduce arrivals while maintaining Mayotte's integration into the EU's outermost regions.