MAMOUDZOU/PARIS, (Reuters) – People in storm-ravaged Mayotte implored French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday to do more to help as he toured the overseas territory, where scores are feared dead in the rubble left by Cyclone Chido.
Some in the crowds that gathered outside the airport booed the presidential motorcade, while others said they were grateful for Macron’s visit and urged him to stay longer.
Officials in France’s poorest overseas territory have only been able to confirm 31 fatalities more than five days after the cyclone, but some have said they fear thousands could have been killed. A lawmaker told Macron that some victims had been buried in mass graves. Reuters could not immediately confirm that.
Many areas remain inaccessible. Heavy rain in the capital Mamoudzou and other areas has worsened the plight of thousands of people whose shantytown dwellings were flattened.
As Macron disembarked from a plane carrying food and medical aid, airport workers pleaded for support.
“Take your time. Stay with us. Give us solutions,” an airport security worker named Assane Haloi told him. “Give us emergency help, because in Mayotte, there is nothing.”
Macron’s office said he would stay on the islands overnight and visit neighbourhoods on Friday. It had not previously been clear how long he would stay.
His government has been accused by opposition politicians of neglecting Mayotte, and several residents of impoverished areas told Reuters they had not received any help since Chido struck.
“Your services are overwhelmed,” one man at the hospital told Macron in a testy exchange. “Help has not reached where I live.”
Macron said his government would send more support soon, including 400 more gendarmes to ensure security, and noted a surge of food and water arriving by air and sea.
“We all have to get together. From the first day people mobilized day and night. We must not divide ourselves,” he said.
He later announced that France would observe Dec. 23 as a day of national mourning. He also said a special law suspending usual regulations would be passed to speed up reconstruction, on the model used for the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
“We were able to do it for the Olympics. We did it to rebuild Notre-Dame, and so we will do it to rebuild Mayotte,” he told local officials.