Emmanuel Macron left Mayotte on Friday noon after noting the urgent needs in landlocked areas of Mayotte, where he was confronted, like the day before, with the distress of residents who were both exasperated and overwhelmed by the damage caused by Cyclone Chido . According to the Ministry of the Interior, the cyclone has so far caused 31 deaths and more than 2,130 injuries.
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Before taking off, he held a meeting of the interministerial crisis unit by videoconference, to “ transmit to the government and administrations the useful actions to take », indicated the Élysée. It is not yet clear what measures have been recommended.
“ We are a Nation ” And “Mayotte and France, until the end », wrote the Head of State on X in French and Mahorese as he flew towards Djibouti.
This Friday, Emmanuel Macron went to Tsingoni, a landlocked town in the west of Grande-Terre, the main island of the Indian Ocean archipelago. Far from Mamoudzou, the capital, relief, water, electricity and food are slow to arrive, six days after the cyclone struck.
The president repeats that everything will be distributed, recognizes that dropping by helicopter is not the best solution. “ We sent the military force to clear the roads » he assured. Yesterday, he promised that by Sunday evening all localities would be supplied with water and food. But the lack of information, the feeling of being cut off from the world, generates a lot of anxiety for the Mahorais.
Emmanuel Macron also concedes that it will take time to restore the telephone network. We will also have to wait to find out how many victims are to be deplored. Emmanuel Macron recalls that a mission to identify the victims is underway.
But, the president also declared, “ we will not be able to resolve the fundamental problems of Mayotte if we do not resolve the problem of illegal immigration.” Around a third of the population of Mayotte, or more than 100,000 inhabitants, particularly people in an irregular situation coming from neighboring Comoros, live in precarious housing. “ End » to the slums and DELETE “ these habitats “unworthy” And ” dangerous “this is one of the objectives of the “special law” promised by the president to “rebuild” Mayotte. Prime Minister François Bayrou has set a potential deadline of two years for this reconstruction.
A sometimes tense first day
Thursday, during a first intense and sometimes tense day on these islands ravaged on December 14 by the most violent cyclone in 90 years, Emmanuel Macron was already able to see the extent of the damage and the extent of the distress. The President of the Republic was confronted for long hours with the impatience, anger and despair of Mahorais who often lost everything.
Emmanuel Macron’s comments in the face of the anger of poor residents are strongly denounced today.
The French president declared: If it wasn’t France, you would be 10,000 times more in trouble! »
Taken to task and booed last night by a crowd of people who shouted “Macron resign”, the head of state lost his temper at the end of his first day of visit. Among the reactions this Friday, that of Éric Coquerel, deputy of La France insoumise, for whom this exchange “ speaks for itself “. “ Emmanuel Macron went there in (…) an arrogant and lesson-giving attitude”launched the environmentalist deputy Sandrine Rousseau on France 2. On the side of the far-right party, the National Rally, the deputy Sébastien Chenu estimated on RTL that these words were not likely to “ comfort the Mahorais compatriots who always have the feeling of being treated separately “.
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Emergency aid from Comoros and the EU
The Comoros will send thousands of bottles of water by boat to Mayotte on Friday, increasing aid initiatives six days after the passage of the cyclone which ravaged the small neighboring French archipelago where many Comorians live, underlines Agence France Presse. “ Around 250 tonnes of water packs will be transported via ferry to Mayotte today”Houmed Msaidie, advisor to the Comorian head of state, in charge of political affairs, told AFP on Friday. “ The aid will be provided with the on-site assistance of the religious organization Uzuri Wa Dini”he added.
The European Union will also provide emergency accommodation, hygiene kits and medical tents to victims of Cyclone Chido which devastated the French archipelago of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, announced Friday Eva Hrncirova, spokesperson for the European Commission. In response to a request from the French authorities, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Belgium made this first humanitarian aid available, the spokesperson said. The request from the French authorities concerns 10,000 tents and emergency accommodation to accommodate affected families.
The European Commission will also release 900,000 euros to help Mozambique, also affected by the same cyclone last weekend. Five flights, as part of a humanitarian airlift, will provide Mozambique with 60 tonnes of emergency aid, including accommodation materials.
Also readCyclone Chido: the death toll rises in Mozambique, with at least 73 dead and 550 injured