During his two-day visit to Mayotte, French President Emmanuel Macron exchanged furious words with people.

Macron paid a visit to a district on Tsingoni, Mayotte's biggest island, where inhabitants still lack access to drinking water and phone service over a week after the hurricane struck. He was heckled on Thursday night by locals who were outraged by France's response to the cyclone as several screamed "We want water, we want water."

Chants of "resign" erupted, as others booed and demanded more help.

As more people expressed frustration at the slow pace of aid efforts, Macron grabbed a microphone and angrily said, "I have nothing to do with the cyclone, you can blame me, it wasn't me!" Addressing the audience, he added, "You've been through something terrible, everyone's struggling, regardless of skin color."

Macron vacillated between acknowledging the hardship and pushing back against criticism.

Visibly losing patience, Macron then shouted, “You’re happy to be in France ... If it wasn’t France, you’d be 10,000 times more scre**d!”

À Mayotte, l’échange tendu entre @EmmanuelMacron et des habitants de Mayotte mécontents de la gestion de la catastrophe par l’État, après le dramatique cyclone du week-end dernier.
Voici une longue partie de cet échange avec les images de @RemyBuisine sur place pour Brut. pic.twitter.com/vqOV3D3s4U

— Brut FR (@brutofficiel) December 20, 2024

The French president went on to say, boasting about the amount of help offered, which remains his duty by law, "There's no place in the Indian Ocean where people get so much help!" In response, a woman yelled, “We disagree".

Macron under fire over comments to Mayotte locals

Macron's comments in Mayotte have sparked backlash in mainland France, with many accusing him of putting on a show.

“Macron humiliated the relatives of thousands of victims,” Alma Dufour, an MP for the far-left France Unbowed party, wrote on X.

À Mayotte, Macron a humilié les proches de milliers de victimes.

L'article du Monde l'achève: racisme, sexisme, homophobie s'ajoutent à son mépris de classe d'une violence inouïe.

Qui peut encore nier qu'il est le problème ? pic.twitter.com/XUIkbsIpWi

— Alma Dufour (@alma_dufour) December 20, 2024

“We've got the biggest human catastrophe since World War II and we're putting on a Macron show,” said Sandrine Rousseau, a Green MP, in an interview for France 2.

Cyclone Chido swept over the island on Saturday, France's poorest department, which has 320,000 people and 100,000 migrants. 

Meanwhile, French officials attempted to repair damaged water pipelines, including one in Mirereni that supplies 10,000 residents. Heat has hindered continuing repair operations, and people are anxious about the possibility of sickness caused by water scarcity following a recent cholera outbreak.

French authorities acknowledged at least 35 deaths, but the figure is likely to be far higher. There are suspicions that hundreds, if not thousands, of people have perished, especially considering that many affected areas have not yet been reached by rescue workers.

Many in Mayotte have expressed disbelief that the toll hasn’t been updated more quickly.

The Interior Ministry said Friday that in addition to the deaths, 67 people were seriously injured and more than 2,400 slightly injured.

“The number of deaths does not reflect the reality of the 100,000 people living in precarious housing,” the statement said. “The prefect has therefore ordered the deputy prefect to set up a mission to search for the dead.”
 
It said 70% of residents were “seriously affected".

The visit was originally scheduled for Thursday, but the French president stated that he extended his stay overnight out of respect.

The administration has begun a district-by-district census to count the deceased, with mayors and local groups assisting. A special team is verifying the data. French Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq confirmed that 17% of hospital staff and 40% of regional health professionals are still missing, roughly 60 to 70 people, while large swathes of the population lack phone services.