France's Macron to visit Mayotte shantytowns wrecked by Cyclone Chido

By Tassilo Hummel

MAMOUDZOU (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron was due on Friday to visit shantytowns in Mayotte ravaged by Cyclone Chido on the second day of a visit where he has faced calls to speed up relief to the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Officials in France's have only been able to confirm 31 fatalities more than six days after the cyclone, the strongest to hit Mayotte in 90 years, but some have said they fear thousands could have been killed.

Some of the islands' worst-affected neighbourhoods, hillside shantytowns comprised of flimsy huts largely inhabited by undocumented migrants, have not yet been accessed by rescue workers.

Macron decided to extend his stay and spend the night in Mayotte after residents pleaded with him to do so.

"I think it's a sign of respect and consideration that is important to me and which allows me to see a little more of what the population is going through," he told reporters late on Thursday.

During the first day of his visit, Macron faced criticism and boos from some Mayotte residents for what they called his government's sluggish response to the cyclone.

Macron said authorities were quickly scaling up support and called for unity. In a heated exchange with a jeering crowd in the evening, he defended the government against charges it neglects Mayotte.

"You are happy to be in France. If it wasn't for France, you would be 10,000 times worse off," he said, using an expletive.

Aboubacar Ahamada Mlachahi was one of many people struggling to secure basic needs.

"What matters first is water, for the children. Before fixing the houses, before fixing anything, the daily life... We need water," he told Reuters.

The 34-year-old construction worker, who is originally from Comoros, said his house was destroyed by the cyclone and he is now squatting on a hillside at Longoni, Mayotte's freight port.

"Everything is gone," he said.

UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS

Authorities have warned it will be difficult to establish a precise death toll in a territory that is home to large numbers of undocumented migrants from Comoros, Madagascar and other countries. Official statistics put Mayotte's population at 321,000, but many say it is much higher.

Some victims were buried immediately, in accordance with Muslim tradition, before their deaths could be counted.

Three out of four people live below the national poverty line in Mayotte, which remains heavily dependent on support from metropolitan France.

Chido also killed at least 73 people in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi after reaching continental Africa, according to officials in those countries.

(Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Angus MacSWan)