The French president, Emmanuel Macron, promised this Thursday all the efforts of the French State to rebuild the archipelago of Mayottedevastated by the cyclone Chido: “If we have been able to rebuild Notre Dame, we can do it with Mayotte.”
Macron visited the French island to observe first-hand the level of destruction and assure the inhabitants of the State’s commitment to that department in the Indian Ocean, the poorest in the country.
The president promised a global reconstruction plan, although he acknowledged that for now It is “impossible” to calculate its cost.but insisted that the nation’s duty is to “live up to” the needs of its citizens.
After flying over the island by helicopter to see the extent of the destruction from the air, Macron visited the territory’s main hospital, went to the devastated Kavani neighborhood, in the capital Mamoudzou, and finally held a meeting with regional and local authorities.
In some cases he received reproachessome angry, for what some in Mayotte consider slowness of the authorities in coming to their aid or due to the precarious state of the island before the cyclone passed last Saturday.
Macron summarized that The most urgent thing is medical assistance, electricity, water and food, and pointed out that given the problems of ground communications, supplies will be dropped from helicopters over the most distant towns. “We need to bring essential products to where they are needed,” he insisted.
Nearly half of the islands’ 320,000 inhabitants are irregular immigrants, but Macron made it clear that “there is no need to make a distinction” when distributing aid.
He announced that on Sunday they will arrive from metropolitan France 1,200 members of the security forces to prevent looting and guarantee security and that by the end of the week it is expected to restore the majority of telecommunications networks by connecting them to satellites.
Furthermore, in his meeting at the Departmental Council with regional deputies and local authorities he announced the approval of “a special law, because reconstruction cannot be carried out with the current instruments.”
The objective, he later explained in his statement, is create a public institution, like the one that organized the recovery of the Notre Dame cathedral or like the one that managed the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games last summer, for the long-term reconstruction. This body would allow “simplifying procedures” and “compressing deadlines,” he indicated.
The president acknowledged having felt “immense anguish” when seeing the level of destruction caused by Chido last Saturday, so his duty is “to live up to it.”
The Provisional casualty figures are 31 dead and 45 seriously injured.although Macron acknowledged that the balance “predictably” will be higher, but without venturing estimates.
The prefect (government delegate) in Mayotte, François Xavier Bieuville, advanced last Sunday that there could be “several hundreds” of deaths, and even “thousands” due to the level of destruction of the shanty towns, where immigrants are especially concentrated. undocumented.
Although Macron did not offer figures, the prime minister, François Bayrouforesees that the fund has 5,000 million eurosaccording to the leader of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, after one of the meetings that the head of the Executive held this Thursday with political leaders to try to form a Government.
The president also announced that on Monday there will be a day of national mourning throughout France and promised to return to Mayotte “in the coming months.”
Macron decided on the fly to stay in Mayotte tonight and leave this Friday, in response to the requests of the inhabitants, who asked him to extend this first brief passage through the territory, located 8,000 kilometers from Paris.
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