evidence: The five islets have been a source of dispute between the two states since the 1970s. On Monday, a French and a Malagasy delegation met in the capital Antananarivo to discuss a way forward on this long-running dispute. [...] But in October during an Indian Ocean visit, President Emmanuel Macron travelled to Glorioso islands (part of the Scattered islands) and declared before cameras and media, "This is France!" – a declaration which sent a shock waves through Madagascar. [...] Former negotiations between Madagascar and France on the matter, in 1990 and 2016, failed to reach a decision.