The results are terrifying. In Mayotte, the number of victims of Cyclone Chido, which ripped through the island on Saturday December 14, would have caused “hundreds” or even “thousands of deaths” according to statements by its prefect, François-Xavier Bieuville. The scenes of desolation were increased tenfold by the force of the cyclone – the most intense to hit the territory in more than ninety years – but also by the omnipresence of precarious housing on site. Dizzying figures, but which barely hide the difficulties that Mayotte was encountering even before Chido crossed it.
Here’s a tip for fans of cold sweats: look at the indicators of this little piece of France lost in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The average GDP per capita is three times lower (11,579 euros) than the national average (38,775 euros). Its cost of living is also higher there. In one year, the price of fresh food products jumped 10.7%; those of electricity, by almost 20%. These increases are added to prices which were already 10% higher compared to those in France. Enough to burden the wallets of the Mahorais, who are, in addition, faced with dramatic infrastructure problems.
Accumulation of injustices
According to the latest census, Mayotte has 320,000 inhabitants. The figure could seem insignificant, compared to other French departments: less than the Vosges (355,431), or Haute-Vienne (370,339). But its trajectory is not: the island’s population has doubled in thirty years. An “extraordinary” development according to INSEE, largely linked to illegal immigration – which became a French department in 2011, Mayotte attracts. But not only that: its fertility rate will be established in 2023 at more than 4 children per woman, more than double compared to mainland France. The territory cannot even count on its youth as an antidote to its poverty. Overwhelmed by its demographics, it is unable to build enough classrooms to accommodate its students.
The State is struggling to cope with this accumulation of injustices. Some have tried to respond via media stunts. Latest example: Operation Wuambushu, launched in 2023 by the then Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin. It was supposed to reduce insecurity, expel illegal migrants and destroy slums. The expected results did not occur. And in the aftermath of the disaster, the Mahorese population is sinking deeper than ever into crisis.