Since the cyclone ravaged the archipelago in mid-December, families who could afford it have moved or entrusted their children to relatives outside Mayotte, in the hope of a better future.
When Marlène Fraytag picks up the phone, she has just come out of an appointment with the CPE. “I also saw the school nurse, who asked a lot of questions about my daughters’ health and state of mind”reports, relieved, this mother. Louanne and Sélène have just returned to school on Tuesday January 21, in 3rd and 5th grade respectively. Not in Mayotte, where they have almost always lived, but in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (Gard), where Marlène is from. After the passage of Cyclone Chido in mid-December, Marlène Fraytag and her husband, also parents of an infant, “thought a lot about what to do” for their daughters.
Roof blown off, walls vanished, rooms flooded… In Tsingoni (Grande-Terre), Louanne and Sélène's college was considerably damaged by Chido. Marlène Marlène Fraytag does not know if the establishment will be able to reopen Monday January 27, the start of the school year for the affected archipelago. In any case, something clicked: “In thirteen years of living in Mayotte, we have had an accumulation of crises. Natural disasters, lack of water, security… Every year, there is something.” The return to France seemed obvious for the well-being of her children, even if her husband, who works in construction, must stay in Grande-Terre for the moment. “I called the college near my parents, the academy validated the registration.”
Since the cyclone razed the archipelago, other parents have chosen to leave the island or send their children to academies in France or on Reunion Island. On December 20, Emmanuel Macron mentioned this emergency solution. According to the Ministry of National Education, this currently concerns nearly 1,200 students, including 422 in Reunion.
This change of establishment and environment is only possible for the wealthiest families of the archipelago, often coming from France. Four of them, whose permanent housing has not suffered major damage, claim to be aware of their “privilege” : sufficient savings and a base in another department. “I said to myself ‘we have the means to leave’, let’s do this. But I know that’s not the case for everyone”explains Marlène Fraytag, entrepreneur in artistic crafts. The plane tickets cost the family almost 3,000 euros.
Before Chido, one in three residents of Mayotte, the poorest region in France, lived in a slum. Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of Snes-FSU, fears “qlet it be the most privileged who can come to the metropolis. But it counterbalances: “On does not want to increase inequalities, but in the name of what could we prohibit students from coming to France if they have family? It is the eternal tension between general interest and individual interest.”
The cyclone hit people who slept under metal sheets harder than those living in permanent houses. But in Mahorean schools, all children, regardless of their social background, will suffer the consequences of Chido. Unless you leave.
Aurore Salim Ricaille, who has lived in Combani (Grande-Terre) for twenty years, decided to send two of her children to the Côte d'Opale (Pas-de-Calais), where her parents live. For their future, “we had no other choice”assures the mother. She says she doesn't “had no problem registering them” in CM2 and 4th. Unlike Marlène Fraytag, this farmer, whose greenhouses were devastated by Chido, will take a return flight to Mayotte within a month. There she will find her Mahorese husband, who remained there with their eldest son. Because he is taking the baccalaureate this year, Aurore Salim Ricaille has for the moment wanted to avoid a change for him “too radical”.
For her part, Albane, a trained nurse but currently at home, moved to Pamandzi (Petite-Terre) in September. She now lives with her family in Castelnaudary (Aude). “We were lucky to leave, unlike others”confides Albane. Her three school-age children were able to enroll in a local school. All four were repatriated to France; his companion, a soldier, is still in Mayotte.
“We made this decision to make sure that they don’t waste time, that they don’t fall behind the program.”
Albane, mother of four childrenat franceinfo
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Chido came to sweep away an already precarious school system. Léon, himself a teacher near Mamoudzou, highlights the long-term absences that are not replaced. “Since the start of the year, Emi didn’t have a maths teacher”illustrates the father of the family, who also deplores the“increasing insecurity” in Mayotte, including around schools.
For several years, teaching unions have also been warning about overcrowded classes. In September 2022, the former rector of Mayotte Gilles Halbout estimated with West France has “800, even 900” the number of missing rooms. This is the reason why rotations, which consist of using the same class to teach some in the morning and others in the afternoon, are common in Mayotte. A system which must be extended from Monday, because of the damage caused by the cyclone, announced Elisabeth Borne.
Emi now lives with her grandmother in a village near Grenoble (Isère). Integrating into his new college remains difficult, reports Léon. “She loves Mayotte deeply, she had lived there since the age of 2. It hurt her heart to leave” the archipelago.
This move was also difficult for Aurore Salim Ricaille's children. “Even if they were well received, the first week was hard. There was the stress of new friends, the school schedules which are different. Not to mention the cold, to which they are not accustomed”she explains. Albane regrets that his family, like many others, were not able to say goodbye to their friends. As for Marlène Fraytag's daughters, they understood the “need” to leave. But Louanne and Sélène have more difficulty planning for the long term in France.
“My daughters have a very strong desire to return to Mayotte, they have told me so several times.”
Marlène Fraytag, mother of three childrenat franceinfo
In 2024, in a completely different context than that of a climate catastrophe, Bouéni chose to send his son to a high school in Reunion. “I sent him to my little brother in December, because he hadn’t had an SES teacher since the start of the school year. He also started to behave in ways that I didn’t like”reports this resident of Bambo-Est (Grande-Terre). A decision that she says she regrets today: “It went badly because he left against his will.” Bouéni also mentions “cultural gap” and an estrangement experienced with difficulty by his son.
“I don’t know yet if this move is permanent.idea is to see how my daughters adapt”specifies Marlène Fraytag. Same point of view for Aurore Salim Ricaille : “And I see that school is going better here, and that the children feel good there, we will consider their permanent schooling in mainland France”. Léon and Albane are thinking of getting their children back this summer. “We really want this to be a six-month break, while Mayotte turns around”says the second.
Zalihata, a first grade teacher in a school in Labattoir (Petite-Terre), already knows that she will not find one of her students on Monday, who has also gone to France. With his parents, they had arrived in Mayotte four months earlier. “They have suffered Chido with full force. The house was fine, but they were extremely shocked. They were just adjusting to the lack of comfort in lifeglisse Zalihata. It's still violent. Obviously, we understand them, it’s very complicated to stay here.”
