In Mayotte, Emmanuel Macron’s first announcements after the passage of Cyclone Chido

POLITICS – It is in a French department declared in a state of “exceptional natural calamity” that Emmanuel Macron arrived this Thursday, December 19. In front of elected officials, he announced national mourning on Monday, December 23 and a moment of contemplation at 11 a.m. While Cyclone Chido left a human toll of 31 dead and more than a thousand injured, and the search for the missing continues, the Head of State assured the press that he wanted rebuild » Mayotte, while calling for “strengthen the fight against illegal immigration”.

• A day of national mourning Monday

Emmanuel Macron had already announced his desire to establish a day of national mourning in view of the disaster in Mayotte, but had not specified the date. This Thursday, he announced a “ national mourning for this Monday, December 23.” “We all share the pain of the Mahorais”said the head of state on Our flags will be at half-mast. All French people will be invited to worship at 11 a.m. »he added from the French territory in the Indian Ocean.

• Rebuild on new foundations

“Everyone must accept that in terms of skills and rules we change things”explained Emmanuel Macron to journalists in Mamoudzou, capital of Mayotte. To rebuild the archipelago, the Head of State therefore wants to base itself on new “criteria”. A reference in particular to the very precarious housing in which a majority of Mahorais live. The department has the largest slum in France, Kawéni, whose bangas, small sheet metal dwellings, were completely razed by the cyclone.

In the Cavani district, a mother of three challenged the president, telling him that “ mobilisation » of the State and relief “ She’s not coming”. « We are completely helpless, we don’t know how to cry, we don’t know how to smile”she sighed. “We were able to rebuild our cathedral in five years. It would still be a tragedy if we were unable to rebuild Mayotte”replied the head of state.

As the resigned Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau had already done, Emmanuel Macron also raised the problem of illegal immigration in Mayotte. He called for strengthen the fight against illegal immigration, at the same time as we obviously re-establish schools, rebuild homes, rebuild hospitals, etc. “.

After a virulent exchange with caregivers at Mamoudzou hospital, the only hospital center in Mayotte, Emmanuel Macron also assured that “the field hospital will be installed tomorrow”, reports Mayotte the first. “Telephony will be restored in the coming days”he also reassured.

• Compensate the uninsured

While 77% of the population of Mayotte lives below the poverty line according to INSEE, and the standard of living of the Mahorais is seven times lower than that of the French in France, the president announced this Thursday that the uninsured would benefit from compensation. He also rejected Thursday the accusations of “ resignation » of the State in Mayotte in the face of the immense damage caused by the hurricane.

“I cannot let it be said (…) that the State has resigned here”he said when discovering the damage in a district of Mamoudzou. “ We are going to set up a compensation fund to support those who are not insured”he added, without specifying the terms. According to the Ministry of the Interior, “70% of residents were seriously affected” by the cyclone.

• Prices blocked on essential products

The government published this Thursday in the Official Journal a decree to block the prices of consumer products in Mayotte. This concerns products such as mineral water (natural or from a source not containing added sugar), food products and drinks, alcoholic or not, animal feed and plant treatment products and fertilizers. The list also includes batteries, dressings, basic hygiene and cleaning products, as well as construction products and materials, electrical equipment and tools.

The text came into force upon its publication overnight and is valid for wholesale, retail, online sales but also production sales prices as well as import margins. and at all stages of product distribution » concerned. Prices cannot be “ higher, all taxes included, than those reached on December 13, 2024 or, failing that, on the nearest earlier date, for each establishment in Mayotte”.

France has also activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism to come to the aid of Mayotte, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday. The request concerns 10,000 tents and emergency accommodation to accommodate affected families in this French archipelago in the Indian Ocean, said another diplomatic source.

Initially expected only for 24 hours on site, Emmanuel Macron finally agreed to spend the night in Mayotte, to go to more distant areas of the archipelago. As soon as he arrived at the airport, he was stopped by distressed Mahorais, asking him to stay where the situation was chaotic. If the program remains the same in the coming hours, the head of state must then go to Djibouti to spend the Christmas meal with French soldiers abroad.

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