the essential
On Wednesday December 25, Christmas Day, François Bayrou organized a meeting dedicated to Mayotte by videoconference from Pau. The Prime Minister discussed, in particular with the new holder of the Overseas portfolio, Manuel Valls, the question of housing and reconstruction.
Christmas Day or not, the new Prime Minister is hard at work. The hot files are multiplying on his desk, in the first row is Mayotte. The island, affected by Cyclone Chido, which has now left 39 dead and 4,000 injured according to a new count published Tuesday, December 24 by the prefect of Mayotte, is awaiting aid which is slow to arrive.
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To manage this problem, François Bayrou will therefore be able to rely on his new Overseas Minister, Manuel Valls, whom he appointed on Monday December 23 and who must manage a first major crisis. The two men were meeting by videoconference this Wednesday, December 25, the Prime Minister being located in Pau. With the two men, the Minister of the Economy Éric Lombard and the Minister of Housing Valérie Létard also participated in this meeting. The Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau was represented by the prefect of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
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“We cannot wait, these questions must move forward. This is why we organized a meeting on Christmas Day,” François Bayrou told AFP. “Our concern, and which is an imperative, is to present concrete solutions as quickly as possible. Solidarity cannot only be in words, it must be in reality.” continued the new tenant of Matignon.
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A new meeting is planned for late Thursday morning, this time in Paris. The most devastating cyclone to hit Mayotte 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. “90% of Mayotte is destroyed, 90% of homes no longer have roofs. We have no water, no food, help is still having difficulty arriving in the areas,” said Monday alarmed morning Estelle Youssouffa, deputy for the first constituency of Mayotte.
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For his part, François Bayrou recently indicated that he intended to visit the island quickly after the formation of his government. He could go there with Manuel Valls who confirmed that he would go there “as quickly as possible with the Prime Minister”.
