French President Emmanuel Macron met with anger from Mayotte residents, days after a devastating cyclone
French President Emmanuel Macron has met with residents of the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, days after the French overseas territory was hit by a devastating cyclone.
At least 31 people have been confirmed dead so far, but local officials fear the complete toll could be much higher, reaching hundreds or even thousands.
Upon arriving in Mayotte on Thursday, Macron was met with ire from some residents, who were aggrieved by what they felt was a lack of support from Paris following the disaster.
“The water isn’t there, no services are there. After six days, is that normal?” one man angrily asked the French president.
A women, clearly distressed, told Macron that the archipelago “needs him.”
“Everything is demolished. We need you – there is nothing in Mayotte. We have young children, we are without water, without electricity,” she told the president.
There has also been a backlash to the amount of aid that has been given to those affected by the cyclone. Macron brought four tons of aid to the territory, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.
“Four tons of aid, that’s 100 grams of food or water per person. What is that? That’s a tin of sardines? If he brings us 40,000 tins of sardines, we’re happy, we’ll be content with that,” one local woman told public broadcaster France Info.
Another woman posted a photograph of two bottles of water, a can of tomatoes, and two other small tins of food on social media. “Here is the so-called food aid distributed to the people of Mayotte,” she wrote. “Anger begins to mount.”
Though he was originally planning on only staying in Mayotte for the day, Macron confirmed on Thursday afternoon that he would be staying in the territory overnight, according to BFMTV.
Macron also announced that the country will establish a compensation fund for those who are uninsured, and said that he will “rebuild” Mayotte with new “criteria,” BFMTV reported.
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