MIRERENI, Mayotte (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron faced widespread frustration and anger from residents of Mayotte when he visited the Indian Ocean islands, which are still reeling from the damage of the most recent cyclone strongest that hit the area in almost a hundred years.
On Friday morning, Macron visited a neighborhood in Tsingoni on the main island of Mayotte, where people are still without access to drinking water or telephone service, almost a week after the cyclone.
As he walked through the area, some shouted: “We want water, we want water.”
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Tensions were palpable on Thursday night as Macron was met with boos from dozens of residents in Pamandzi on the island of Petite-Terre at the last stop of his first day in Mayotte.
As people were frustrated by the slow pace of aid efforts, Macron grabbed a microphone and said: “I have nothing to do with the cyclone, you can blame me, it wasn't me ! “
Speaking to the people, he recognized their hardship.
“You have been through something terrible, everyone is struggling, regardless of skin color,” he said, urging unity.
Macron then became angry, shouting, “You are happy to be in France… If it wasn't France, you would scream 10,000 times more!”
The French president said: “There is no place in the Indian Ocean where people get so much help! ”A woman was heard saying “we don't agree. “
Macron is known for his appetite for debate and is used to mixing up crowds and confronting people who are angry with him. He explained that he stayed two days in Mayotte out of “respect and consideration” for the people.
Mayotte, with 320,000 inhabitants and around 100,000 more migrants, is a The poorest region in France. The cyclone destruction of entire communities because many people noticed warnings, thinking that the storm would not be so terrible.
In Tsingoni, the French president received a warmer welcome on Friday morning with people who wanted to urge him to help, some posing for selfies with him, others showing him their children.
At the same time, the French military and local authorities were scrambling to repair broken water pipes throughout the islands and to get water to villages that had not received it.
In the village of Mirereni, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) outside the northern capital of Mayotte, Civil Security officials were trying to remove a large fallen mango tree that was breaking a water pipe. remove
The pipe supplies water to around 10,000 people in three nearby villages. But officials say it may take a little longer than usual because of the heat, which affects equipment.
Locals said they are worried that the lack of water would lead to disease. Earlier this year, there was a cholera outbreak on the island, with at least 200 cases.
At least 31 people have died during the cyclone and around 2,500 people have been injured, including 67 in a serious condition, French authorities said. But hundreds or even thousands of people are afraid to die.
The government said it was devising a way to count the dead by ordering a district-by-district census, with the help of mayors and local associations. A special team has been established, authorities said, and some workers are being sent on the ground to verify the information provided.
French Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq said on Friday that around 17% of hospital workers and 40% of regional health workers on the islands were still unaccounted for.
“That's around 60 to 70 people,” she said on news broadcaster FranceInfo, stressing that a large part of the population still does not have access to telephone services.
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Sylvie Corbet reported from Paris.
