French President Emmanuel Macron began a five-day tour of the Indian Ocean on Monday with a visit to Mayotte, four months after Cyclone Chido devastated that French overseas department.
Macron landed in Mamoudzou, the capital of Mayotte, early in the morning with his wife Brigitte, French broadcaster BFMTV reported.
From Mayotte, he will connect via videoconference to a meeting of the Council of Ministers, where he will present a programme to rebuild the archipelago, which also includes an item on combating illegal immigration. He will also discuss the recovery of Mayotte four months after the devastating Cyclone Chido.
Chido was the most powerful storm to hit the island in 90 years. Thirty-one people were reported dead and more than 1,400 injured. French insurers have estimated damage from the storm at €650-800 million.
France faces new attacks on prisons
As Macron makes his overseas tour, French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced more attacks on prisons. Darmanin said on X that “prison staff have been attacked again.”
He emphasised that no one had been injured in the attacks, but that the attacks, carried out “at a time of restoring order and power in prisons,” were in the nature of a “humiliation” of the state, and demanded that the perpetrators be caught as soon as possible.
“I know I can trust the determination of the interior ministry to catch the perpetrators as soon as possible and put an end to this disorder,” the minister wrote.
The night of April 14-16 saw attacks on prisons in France in cities including Toulon, Marseille and Lyon, after which an investigation was launched.
Gérald Darmanin said the government would not back down in the face of various “attempts at intimidation” – from burning cars to firing automatic weapons at prisons – calling the attacks “terrorist.”
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the party Debout la France (France Arise), wrote on X:
“Shooting at a couple of prison guards …. At their home. Cars set on fire in Lyon-Corbas prison, walls riddled with tags…. Now not only prisons are burning, but the homes of government employees! Another step towards enslavement. Another step towards war against the Republic. No more slackness! We must strike hard and regain control.”
