Five weeks after Mayotte was devastated by a cyclone, teachers and staff have headed back to school to prepare for the return of students next week. This comes as lawmakers in mainland France started debate on a bill that would accelerate reconstruction efforts in the Indian Ocean territory, but would not address the root problem of immigration.
Teachers and administrative staff went back to school in Mayotte on Monday, a week later than anticipated, because of the threat from cyclone Dikeledi that swept through last week.
The school district on the archipelago employs just over 10,000 people, including more than 8,000 teachers, who are preparing to welcome back some 117,000 students.
Many – staff and students alike – are still without shelter, water or electricity, over a month after Chido swept through.
Some school buildings served as temporary shelters in the first week after the storm.
Many suffered damage, like the Nord high school in Acoua, whose roof blew off, and walls were reduced to rubble.
“Many classrooms are unusable,” school librarian Véronique Hummel told RFI. “Electricity only came back a month after the cyclone, and water only came back on the morning of Tuesday 14 January.”
She wonders how teaching will be in these conditions. There is also the question of how many teachers will actually be present.
Mayotte struggles to recover a month after devastating cyclone Chido
Students, teachers suffering
“There is a concern that because some have lost their homes, and are wondering how they're going to manage,” said Jacques Mikulovic, superintendent of the Mayotte school district, which was already struggling to recruit before the cyclone.
“We want them to return so we can help them find a solution.”
Regardless of their personal situation, those teachers who are there all express concern for their students.
“These students are in a very precarious situation, and there's a lot of uncertainty,” said Anaëlle Bracieux, who teaches French as a second language.
“We’re waiting to see if everyone will be there, if anyone has left, if any have moved or have been injured.”
Rebuilding bill
Meanwhile, in mainland France, lawmakers started debating an emergency bill for Mayotte that would waive certain city planning rules to speed up rebuilding homes and other buildings, including schools.
The bill only addresses reconstruction, and not the thorny issue of migration.
A bill restricting birthright citizenship in Mayotte - an attempt to stem migration from neighbouring islands - will be reviewed on 6 February.
The reconstruction bill is the first text from the new government under François Bayrou to be debated in the National Assembly, and several opposition lawmakers deemed it inadequate while it passed through committee.
But despite the criticism, it passed, with no group willing to be blamed for getting in the way of a law intended to rebuild Mayotte as quickly as possible.
Modelled on the reconstruction of Paris’ Notre-Dame cathedral, the proposed legislation calls for the creation of a public operator to coordinate the reconstruction, which would be headed by General Pascal Facon, the former commander of Operation Barkhane, France’s anti-terrorist force in the Sahel.
The law would give the state power to allow local authorities to set aside rules on public procurement, planning and eminent domain.
The government hopes to have the bill passed in the National Assembly by the end of the month so it can be sent to the Senate on 3 February.
