President Emmanuel Macron returned Monday to the French overseas territory of Mayotte, four months after it was devastated by cyclone Chido, to assess the reconstruction of the archipelago. It's the first stop in a five-day tour of the Indian Ocean.
Macron has returned to Mayotte four months after cyclone Chido killed 40 people and caused €3.5 billion in damage.
Water, electricity and telecommunications networks have since been restored but local residents are still waiting for major reconstruction projects to begin.
"I want to pay tribute to the resiliance of the Mahoran people," the French president said Monday on his arrival in the capital Mamoudzou.
"We responded to the immediate emergency. Now I’m here to assess what has been done well, what hasn’t been done well enough, and to give things a push forward," he added.
Visiting Mayotte in December, Macron promised a "full crisis response". But he received a frosty welcome, with locals lashing out over the slowness of emergency aid and reconstruction efforts. An angry Macron responded saying: "If this weren't France, you'd be 10,000 times deeper in the shit."
One of the aims of the visit is therefore to show progress is being made.
Macron has brought along a much-awaited programming bill for the rebuilding of the archipelago, aiming to reinforce the fight against illegal immigration, unsafe unhousing, insecurity and to boost the local economy.
The bill will be adopted on Monday evening during a special council of ministers meeting, chaired by Macron via videoconference.
"We won’t solve all problems with just one piece of legislation," the president acknowledged, but insisted there needs to be "mobilisation beyond the emergency phase to address deeper issues," especially the challenge of migration from the Comoros.
Mayotte cyclone lays bare the fragility of France’s 'forgotten' territory
'Fed up'
Macron is to meet locals and officials and hold a meeting focusing on the agricultural sector, to "ensure that the after-effects, scars and fractures left by the cyclone are being resolved," the Elysée said ahead of the trip.
The French parliament passed an emergency law in February, easing urban planning rules and offering tax incentives to spur reconstruction but a lack of funding, poor coordination and a shortage of materials has slowed down the process.
Roughly a third of the archipelago's 300,000 population – many of them undocumented migrants from the neighbouring Comoros – live in precarious housing.
"We're all fed up," Alexandre Grau, who lost his roof in Tsingoni, told AFP news agency. "Nothing has changed."
Five-day trip
The trip to Mayotte is the first of a five-day tour of the region, focusing on France's strategy in the Indian Ocean where Russia and China are seeking to increase their influence.
"We have a common future to build," said an advisor to Macron ahead of the trip.
On Tuesday the president travels to Reunion Island, which was recently hit by cyclone Garance and is facing a severe Chikungunya epidemic.
Reunion Island health chiefs call for more doctors to fight chikungunya epidemic
He then heads to Madagascar – where no French president has made a bilateral visit since 2005 – to attend the fifth summit of the Indian Ocean Commission.
The integration of Mayotte into the Indian Ocean Commission – which includes Madagascar, Mauritius, the Union of the Comoros, Seychelles and Reunion island – will be on the summit's agenda, the Elysée said. Comoros is opposed to Mayotte's inclusion.
The president will also discuss the issue of the Eparses Islands, French territories of strategic importance in the Mozambique Channel, claimed by Madagascar.
In Mauritius, the focus will be on food soverignty and ocean preservation.
