Emmanuel Macron extends his visit to Mayotte, devastated by Cyclone Chido, on Friday, December 20, with residents divided between exasperation and dejection in the face of the enormous reconstruction work that is looming, by visiting one of the many shanty towns of the archipelago .
Thursday, during a first day in the poorest department in France which was ravaged on December 14 by the most violent cyclone in 90 years, the Head of State was able to see the extent of the damage and the extent of distress. “I decided to sleep here because I considered that, given what the population is going through,” leaving the same day could have “established the idea that we come, we look, we leave,” a- he explained to the press in the evening. “It’s a mark of respect, of consideration,” he assured.
Anger and despair of the Mahorais
The President of the Republic was confronted for long hours with the impatience, anger and even despair of Mahorais who often lost everything. “Macron resign!”, “you are talking nonsense”, “water, water, water”, young people and mothers shouted at him on Thursday evening. Unable to detail the measures taken throughout the day, Emmanuel Macron ended up blurting out: “I’m not the cyclone! I’m not responsible!”
On Friday, he should leave Mamoudzou, the capital of the French archipelago in the Indian Ocean, to go to the most isolated localities where relief, drinking water, electricity and distribution of Food takes longer to arrive.
Remoteness and inaccessibility are mentioned among the reasons which complicate the establishment of an accurate assessment. According to provisional figures, 31 deaths and some 2,500 injuries have been officially recorded. “It is likely that there are many more victims,” admitted Emmanuel Macron, recalling that a mission had been launched to verify the number of deaths. In Mozambique, Cyclone Chido which hit this African country on Sunday left at least 73 dead.
Reconstruction in “two years”?
He also said he would go to a slum on Friday morning, where tin housing was often pulverized by the cyclone. Around a third of the population, or more than 100,000 inhabitants, particularly people in an irregular situation coming from neighboring Comoros, live in precarious housing.
“Putting an end” to slums and “removing” these “unworthy” and “dangerous” habitats is one of the objectives of the “special law” promised by the president to “rebuild” Mayotte. It’s about “breaking the rules”, shortening deadlines and facilitating construction, like what was done to organize the Olympic Games and restore Notre-Dame de Paris in five years after the 2019 fire .
While the head of state has not set a timetable at this stage for the reconstruction, his Prime Minister François Bayrou, from Paris, wanted to be ambitious. “We must set a much shorter deadline than five years”, “perhaps two years”, he said Thursday evening. “I hope we can do it. It’s a superhuman, immense task.”
Day of “national mourning”
In the medium term, the president also said he wanted to “strengthen the fight against illegal immigration” by increasing, until almost doubling, the number of deportations at the border, which was 22,000 in 2023. In the immediate future, he assured that 50% of water and electricity would be “restored by” Friday, even if it could take “several weeks” in the most “isolated” municipalities. distribution of bottled water and food will reach all communities “by Sunday”.
Emmanuel Macron has set Monday, December 23 as the day of “national mourning” in solidarity with Mayotte, with flags at half-mast and a minute of silence throughout France at midday. Friday evening, after this intense two-day visit, the President of the Republic is expected in Djibouti to share the traditional Christmas meal with French troops deployed abroad.