France announces $3.2B funding for reconstruction of cyclone-hit Mayotte

By Ilayda Cakirtekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – The French president announced on Monday a package of €3.2 billion ($3.6 billion) for the reconstruction of cyclone-hit Mayotte.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Indian Ocean archipelago, four months after Cyclone Chido devastated the French overseas department.

He landed in Mamoudzou, the capital of Mayotte, early in the morning alongside his wife Brigitte, and the ministers of overseas territories, agriculture and health.

The destructive cyclone in mid-December killed 40 people and caused €3.5 billion (nearly $4 billion) in damage.

Macron said the funding, to be spent between 2025 and 2031, would be “subject to periodic reviews” and include both national and European funds alongside international lenders.

“Is everything resolved? No. We are in a phase of stabilization ... There is still much to improve, and we are currently addressing that,” Macron said.

During a meeting with elected representatives, in which issues such as health, education, local economy, security and illegal immigration were addressed, the French president also talked about the recently adopted bill limiting birthright citizenship in Mayotte.

“I won’t tell you this is a common mechanism in the Republic. The elected officials who spoke are right to say that it is an anomaly in the etymological sense of the word. … It’s true that the fact it is perceived as unfair is legitimate. It exists because Mayotte is experiencing an abnormal situation itself and that is also what led Parliament to pass a law that specifically modifies birthright citizenship for Mayotte,” Macron explained.

He said immigration to the archipelago had changed over recent decades with more coming from the Great Lakes region.

Macron announced an operation to take measures against the migration flow.

“The objective is to significantly improve the prevention of migration flows, to stop the barges arriving from Tanzania and elsewhere, to much more effectively prevent all migratory flows more broadly coming from the Comoros, and to truly reach 35,000 returns, which is our goal,” he added.

The French president began his five-day tour of the Indian Ocean with a visit to Mayotte. He will also visit Reunion, Madagascar, and Mauritius.