French President Emmanuel Macron faced a fiery confrontation with locals in Mayotte during a visit to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Chido, which devastated the island last week.
Tensions flared as Macron, who arrived to offer support, found himself heckled by residents who were furious at the French government’s response to the disaster.
In an increasingly tense exchange on Thursday night, Macron attempted to justify France’s efforts, telling the crowd, “Don’t pit people against each other. If you pit people against each other, we’re scr*wed, because you’re happy to be in France. Because if this wasn’t France, you’d be 10,000 times more in the sh*t.”
“Which other territory in this region delivers water, supplies, and nurses as we do here?”
Macron’s comments were met with jeers and chants of “resign” from the locals, who were still without basic necessities like food, water, and electricity in the wake of the cyclone. Cyclone Chido, which struck Mayotte on Saturday, destroyed entire neighborhoods and left widespread infrastructure damage.
French authorities have confirmed at least 31 deaths, but the toll is feared to be much higher, with hundreds, if not thousands, of people potentially dead.
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