François Bayrou arrived this Monday, December 30, in Mayotte at the head of an imposing ministerial delegation with the promise of an aid plan for the reconstruction of the archipelago called “Mayotte standing” after the devastating passage of the Hurricane Chido, which will precede other longer-term measures.
“The Mahorais often have the feeling that what we bring them are assurances, beautiful words of solidarity in declarations but what they want is reality. […] After a day of dialogue, we will announce this evening a plan which will be called ‘Mayotte standing'” which will allow “to provide rapid responses”, affirmed the Prime Minister, after the first visit to a desalination plant of the water, while residents are firmly awaiting concrete responses from the government.
“And then, there will be a second phase within a few months. It’s a long-term plan. Because it’s not just about rebuilding Mayotte as it was. It’s about designing the “the future of Mayotte is different,” he added. François Bayrou must speak to the departmental council at the end of his day of visits. The fate of Mayotte must be the subject of a special bill, which could be presented during the Council of Ministers scheduled for Friday.
Humanitarian equipment
The Prime Minister’s plane landed on Monday at 5:40 a.m. local time (3:40 a.m. in Paris) at Mamoudzou airport. François Bayrou is accompanied by five ministers including two of the heavyweights of his government announced on Monday: Ministers of State Elisabeth Borne (Education) and Manuel Valls (Overseas). Valérie Létard (Housing), Yannick Neuder (Health) and Thani Mohamed Soilihi (Francophonie and International Partnerships), former senator of the island, are also traveling in the prime ministerial plane, which transported 2.5 tonnes of humanitarian equipment, including water purification tablets and freight for dialysis patients.
Continuation of the delivery of aid, reconstruction, education and the inevitably disrupted return to school: the government’s new measures are expected on the island, two weeks after the passage of Chido, which caused the death of 39 people and more than 5,600 injured, according to a report from the Mayotte prefecture published on Sunday.
The most devastating cyclone to hit the island in 90 years caused colossal damage on December 14 in the poorest department in France, where emergency services have since been hard at work restoring essential services such as water, electricity and communications networks.
The day began with a visit to the Petite Terre desalination plant, which will be followed by a visit to the Kaweni 2 college in Mamoudzou and the field hospital installed after the cyclone. Several meetings are also planned with economic players, from the world of education, security forces and local elected officials, as well as a tribute ceremony to gendarmerie captain Florian Monnier who died in intervention after the passage of the cyclone.
“Rigorous monitoring”
The trip of François Bayrou and his ministers follows that of Emmanuel Macron on December 19 and 20 during which the president announced the first emergency measures for an island which, “for months”, “will not live in a normal situation “. François Bayrou is therefore responsible for “ensuring the rigorous monitoring of these commitments”, the Elysée announced on Sunday.
Emmanuel Macron was also confronted for long hours with the impatience, anger and despair of Mahorais who often lost everything. He attracted criticism for having notably responded: “Don’t pit people against each other! If you pit people against each other we’re screwed, because you’re happy to be in France. Because if it wasn’t France you would be 10,000 times more in trouble!”
Its new Prime Minister François Bayrou experienced a first and intense controversy by going, two days after the cyclone, to Pau to chair the municipal council of the city of which he has been mayor since 2014. The announcement of the composition of his government on Monday, a day declared of national mourning, was also criticized.
So many points recalled by the first secretary of the Socialist Party Olivier Faure who, in an open letter, asks for “actions” from the Prime Minister. “The residents feel abandoned and are waiting for help,” writes Olivier Faure, who also questions François Bayrou on “the work of listing deceased people.” On site, groups of Mahorese citizens denounced in an open letter “the glaring insufficiency of the support measures” after the passage of the cyclone, and requested “a rapid and structured reconstruction plan”, the creation of a “solidarity fund exceptional” to compensate the victims, including the uninsured, and the “elimination of property taxes for the current year”.
At the end of his visit to Mayotte, François Bayrou will travel to the island of Reunion, an important logistical base for aid to the archipelago, located 1,435 kilometers away, where he will continue his visit Tuesday morning before returning the metropolis.