Asked about France Inter, Manuel Valls, Minister for Overseas Territories, said he understood “all the anger, fear and deep distress” of the Mahorais. “I will be at work in a few hours with only one idea: the reconstruction of Mayotte”, he assured.
While many people denounce the feeling of abandonment of some of the Mahorais, Mr. Valls affirmed that the only way to show them how seriously their fate was taken was « [son] total and complete commitment to these overseas territories.” According to him, the fact that the overseas ministry is a ministry of state is a signal sent in response to this “legitimate feeling of abandonment”.
“We are not going to rebuild Mayotte in a few weeks, but (…) I can assure (…) the total commitment of the nation on this subject”, continued the minister, who will visit the archipelago, accompanied by the Prime Minister, “as quickly as possible”. “Give us a few hours to organize ourselves, but we will go to Mayotte. »
“This cyclone partly razed this territory. If this happened [dans] France, what would that represent? They are our fellow citizens and we owe them support and help”, he declared again. The priorities are therefore: transport, access to water and food, housing and school.
Asked about the human toll, which is currently 35 dead, and while François Bayrou wanted to be reassuring, Mr. Valls said he wanted to remain cautious and deplored a “tragedy” : “So much the better if there are not thousands of victims, as we feared, but let's be careful, I'm waiting to have all the elements. »
While the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, has promised a special law to accelerate reconstruction in Mayotte, he recalls that there is ” emergency “. “This law which was prepared by the outgoing government, I hope that it will be brought very quickly to the council of ministerssaid Mr. Valls. This clearly shows the government's determination to rebuild Mayotte. »
He concluded with the idea that it was not only necessary to rethink the relationships between France and the overseas territories at the top of the State, but in a more global way, throughout society.
