Mayotte was devastated by Cyclone Chido which struck on Dec. 14. Mozambique, an African country also hit by Chido, suffered serious damage but not the same degree of devastation. Mayotte is a French colony. It comprises several islands in the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. All of

The Minister of the Interior is sticking to the estimate of 39 deaths and 2,432 injuries. He says it is more important to help the living than count the dead. However, many local politicians speaking on French television or in alternative media like Témoinage (Dec. 23) estimate the death toll is in the hundreds or thousands based on the devastation that occurred.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to Mayotte after only 10 days had an angry and crude exchange with some of the people living there. In remarks captured on X (Twitter), he said: “Don’t pit people against each other. If you pit people against each other, we’re screwed. You should be happy to be in France. Because if this wasn’t France, you’d be 10,000 times more in the shit.” (tinyurl.com/ycycm5we)

Macron also declined aid from the African Union. A boat from the Comoro Islands, Mayotte’s nearest neighbor, loaded with water, food and medicine was delayed in discharging its desperately needed cargo, because it didn’t satisfy the EU’s bureaucratic sanitary requirements.