“We have a lot of promises, now we are waiting for concrete results.” Five days after the passage of Cyclone Chido, elected officials in Mayotte are demanding resources. The president of the departmental council of Mayotte, Ben Issa Ousseni, asked, Tuesday, December 17, “a reconstruction plan”. “We will have to invest colossal resources and this plan will cost billions” euros, he pleaded late in the evening on franceinfo. “But the emergency today in Mayotte is water and food”he recalled. Faced with shortages, some 120 tonnes of food must be distributed on Wednesday on the two main Mahoran islands, according to the authorities. A military ship is expected Thursday morning in Mayotte with 180 tons of cargo on board. Follow our live stream.
• A first night under curfew. The inhabitants of Mayotte woke up after a first night spent under curfew, a measure now put in place between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. to ensure security and avoid looting in the archipelago. “We are afraid of looting and attacks. The security context is tense, so it was necessary to put this curfew in place”defended the president of the departmental council of Mayotte, Ben Issa Ousseni.
• A tax boost for donations for Mayotte. “To provide Mayotte and its inhabitants with rapid assistance that meets the humanitarian and health challenges, donations and payments made from December 17, 2024 and until May 17, 2025 will entitle them to the increased rate of 75%, in the limit of 1 000 euros”indicated the Prime Minister’s services on Tuesday. Thus, a donation of 100 euros will result in a deduction of 75 euros on income tax. The rate for donations to organizations of general interest or recognized as being of public utility is usually set at 66%.
• Emmanuel Macron and François Bayrou expected on site in the coming days. The head of state “will be Thursday in Mayotte”announced the Elysée on Tuesday evening. The new Prime Minister, François Bayrou, under fire for having favored the municipal council of Pau on Monday in the midst of the Mahoran crisis, will follow suit as soon as his government “will be formed”in order to “mobilize all state resources”he said, Tuesday evening, on France 2.
Calls for mobilization. In Mamoudzou, the capital of the department, where emergency services expect to find many victims in the rubble of the shanty towns, the town hall called its adult residents and “good physical condition” has “strengthen the teams on the ground”. Calls for solidarity have multiplied in France and abroad. “We are going to launch a call for projects so that architects, architecture students and large companies can propose models that can be assembled immediately”also announced the Prime Minister, François Bayrou.
