The European Union has responded to France's request for assistance for its overseas territory of Mayotte, devastated by Cyclone Chido, as President Emmanuel Macron told angry locals they would be "10,000 times" worse off if they were not in France.
The cyclone, which hit the island on Saturday, 14 November, destroyed infrastructure and flattened many of the makeshift dwellings in its large slums.
Thirty-one people have been reported dead, although the death toll is expected to rise significantly.
Almost one week on, there are still food and water shortages and electricity is yet to be restored in some areas, in the aftermath of Mayotte's worst storm in nearly a century.
Angry exchanges
On Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron arrived on the Indian Ocean archipelago, along with four tonnes of emergency aid. But residents say this is far from enough, and there were angry exchanges with the president.
Macron hit back at a jeering crowd: "If this wasn't France, you'd be 10,000 times more in the shit. There is no other place in the Indian Ocean where people have received this much help. That’s a fact.”
As the French president visited a neighbourhood in Tsingoni on Mayotte’s main island Grande-Terre – where people still have no access to drinking water or phone service – one man shouted: "Seven days and you’re not able to give water to the population."
“I understand your impatience. You can count on me,” Macron replied, adding that water would be distributed at city halls.
France and Comoros clash over migrants lost in Mayotte cyclone disaster
Macron later announced that France would observe a day of national mourning on Monday, 23 December. He also said a special law suspending the usual regulations would be passed to speed up reconstruction, based on the model used for the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral.
The president left Mayotte – France's poorest department – on Friday, after spending some 24 hours meeting locals and officials.
Mayotte cyclone lays bare the fragility of France’s 'forgotten' territory
EU response
In a statement issued on Friday, the European Union said it had responded to “France’s request for assistance”, providing emergency shelters, hygiene kits and medical tents.
Belgium, Germany, Italy and Sweden have offered the shelters and other items via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, it said.
Neighbouring Comoros, which gained independence from France in 1974, said it was ferrying 250 tonnes of bottled water to Mayotte on Friday.
The EU said it had also provided Mozambique with €900,000 in emergency humanitarian funding to help affected communities there. Seventy-three people were reported dead in northern Mozambique and 13 in Malawi, according to the authorities.
Cyclone Chido leaves 34 dead and devastates Mozambique
