Thomas Bonhomme

Thomas Bonhomme
President of Mayotte
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 January 2021
Governor of Mayotte
In office 28 September 2011 – 1 January 2021
Preceded by	Jean-Elie Gouin
Personal details
Born	(1944-12-10) 10 December 1944 Blythe, Mayotte
Political party	Bloc Mayotte (2003–present)
Children	5 children

Thomas Dechanel Bonhomme (born 10 December 1944) is a Mayottean politician who serves as the inaugural President of Mayotte, and previously had served as Governor of Mayotte when it was a province of Zamastan. He was a central figure in Bloc Mayotte and the independence movement for Mayotte, as well as the Bettencourt Protests. As a result of the independence movement and the Supreme Court's decision in Bettencourt v. Government, Bonhomme triggered a referendum which ultimately gave Mayotte its independence on January 1st, 2021, which coincided with his election as President.

As Governor of Mayotte, Bonhomme signed the "2014 Mayotte Secularism Bill", which banned public workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols, gaining national and international criticism. Bonhomme supported the law, saying "We are in a free and democratic society. You speak to me, I should see your face, and you should see mine. It's as simple as that." He also opposed federal mandates for immigration rates and cut the acceptance of Mayotte's refugee program to less than 10,000. Bonhomme is a self-identified nationalist and a controversial figure, having long endorsed separatist extremism, conspiracy theories of the 1972 assassination of Marvin Gaviria, and pro-Drambenburgian sentiment. He has said Mayotteans should "take action into their own hands to reclaim our historic pride," and in 2022 joined President Till Schultze of Chaesia and Chancellor Giorg Auster-Brautstadt of Drambenburg to restore pre-World War territories of Drambenburg.

President

Controversy

On July 26th, Bonhomme appeared to support pro-Drambenburg sentiments and called on a referendum to consider rejoining Drambenburg. Domestic cells of Mayottean nationalist extremists who had long expressed these views and advocated for violence to achieve their goals emerged on social media platforms and deep-web forums endorsing proposed attacks against hard targets. In the address, Bonhomme said "Mayotteans and our supporters must take action into their own hands to reclaim our historic pride, in any way possible." Bonhomme refused to walk back those comments or clarify them in anyway, even after an attempted bombing of a federal office in Titania and the attempted assassination of Josselin Corne. Bonhomme's address prompted a string of warnings from the Zamastanian Intelligence Service, who urged the Zamastanian public to be wary of extremist behavior from Mayottean nationalists. The comments also led to demonstrations within Mayotte, including a march in Blythe which left dozens injured after counter-protestors clashed with Bonhomme supporters.