Flags will be flown at half-mast and a minute’s silence will be observed at midday in public offices across France and its overseas territories on Monday for the victims of Cyclone Chido, the most devastating storm to hit Mayotte in 90 years.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the national day of mourning last week during a trip to the Indian Ocean archipelago, which is France’s poorest territory.
Read moreMacron declares day of national mourning for cyclone-hit Mayotte
Cyclone Chido’s provisional toll stands at 35 people killed and around 2,500 injured. But authorities say the real toll could be in the hundreds or even thousands.
Thousands of people who entered Mayotte illegally bore the brunt of the storm since many migrants avoided emergency shelters out of fear of deportation, according to local authorities.
Emergency teams have struggled to cope with the scale of disaster as aid arrived by air and sea to the remote French territory.
Since the cyclone struck on December 14, 31 tons of food and 108 tons of water have arrived, the French interior ministry said Friday. An additional 1.6 million litres of water were expected to arrive Monday aboard a container ship, the ministry said.
Rift between locals and migrants
Macron faced widespread anger and frustration from residents of Mayotte on Friday as angry residents of a damaged neighbourhood heckled the French president, complaining that drinking water had not reached them nearly a week after the storm hit the Indian Ocean archipelago.
Discontent simmered among residents who accused the government of diverting the island’s already scarce resources to migrants at their expense.
“We are the legitimate population of this island,” said Amada Salime. Standing in the rubble of his home on Saturday, he added, “If there is help from the government – water or something to eat or money to make houses – Mahorais people will not have it. Immigrants are more numerous than us, and we will be left behind.”
Mayotte, a French department located between Madagascar and mainland Africa, has a population of 320,000. French authorities have estimated another 100,000 migrants also live there, most of whom have arrived from the nearby Comoros Islands, just 70 kilometers (43 miles) away.
The island’s fragile public services, designed for a much smaller population, are buckling under the strain. According to the French statistics agency INSEE, around three-quarters of Mayotte’s population live in poverty, with a median annual disposable income just one-eighth that of the Paris metropolitan area.
Shantytowns and illegal settlements
“The problems of Mayotte cannot be solved without addressing illegal immigration,” Macron said during his testy visit this week, acknowledging the challenges posed by the island’s rapid population growth. “Despite the state’s investments, migratory pressure has made everything explode,” he added.
The migrants’ shantytowns, known as “bangas”, have long been an issue in Mayotte. “Can we solve the issue of shantytowns today? The answer is no. We will address it during the stabilisation and rebuilding phase,” Macron said.
For many migrants, like Nazca Antoiy, a Comorian who has lived in Mayotte for a decade, the cyclone has heightened fears of displacement.
“I heard that people were told not to reconstruct new houses. So we need to worry about that,” she said, reflecting a widespread concern that authorities may use the disaster to expedite demolitions of informal settlements.
Such concerns are not unfounded. Last year, France launched Operation Wuambushu, a controversial campaign to demolish shantytowns and deport migrants who entered illegally. Macron hinted that similar policies could resume but stressed reconstruction efforts would take precedence.
The storm has left many residents struggling to meet basic needs.
“I can’t take it anymore. Just to have water is complicated,” said Fatima, a 46-year-old mother of five whose family has been without clean water since the storm ravaged Mayotte last weekend. Fatima, who only gave her first name because her family is known locally, also said she felt the island could not support the current population, let alone more.
Most migrants have family links in Mayotte and speak the same language. They seek a better life on the island rather than aiming to reach the European continent.
Hotspot for migration to EU
Mayotte’s geopolitical position has long made it a hotspot for migration. While the island voted to remain French in referendums held in 1974 and 1976, neighboring Comoros has never recognized its sovereignty and continues to claim the archipelago as its own. This unresolved dispute has fueled waves of migration, with thousands risking perilous sea crossings each year.
Outgoing French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau recently reignited the debate, describing the situation in Mayotte as a “war” earlier this week. Retailleau proposed stricter measures, including using drones and naval patrols to block further arrivals. “We must be much tougher on the Comoros,” he said, accusing the neighbouring government of allowing migrants to leave its shores unchecked.
Retailleau’s calls to “change the rules” include proposals to restrict birthright citizenship in Mayotte, a policy already tightened in 2018 to require proof that at least one parent had been a legal resident for more than three months. Critics argue that these measures only deepen Mayotte’s divisions without addressing the root causes of migration.
A 2023 parliamentary report cited in French media warned that the island was a “ticking time bomb,” while suggesting redistributing part of Mayotte’s migrant population to mainland France – a proposal unlikely to gain widespread support.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
Leave a Comment