France holds day of mourning for victims of Cyclone Chido in Mayotte

France observed a day of mourning on Monday for victims of Cyclone Chido, which devastated its poorest territory, Mayotte, over a week ago.

The cyclone was the most destructive to hit the archipelago in 90 years, causing widespread damage to the island off Africa's east coast and leaving at least 35 dead and around 2,500 injured.

The actual toll is likely much higher due to the extensive destruction, precarious living conditions for a large migrant population and others, and the Muslim practice of burying the dead within 24 hours.

Locals said many victims had stayed home, not believing the storm would be so severe.

Cyclone Chido struck Mayotte on 14 December, disrupting water and electricity supplies and severing communications, leaving thousands displaced and many struggling to rebuild.

Chido also hit southeastern Africa, where the National Institute of Risk and Disaster Management in Mozambique reported 94 fatalities.

In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron stood for a minute of silence at the Elysee Palace. He visited Mayotte days after the cyclone.

“The people of Mayotte are in the hearts of all French people," Macron wrote on X.

Mayotte lawmaker Estelle Youssouffa accused the French government of neglecting the island, noting that newly appointed Prime Minister François Bayrou was under pressure to announce his cabinet.

“The prime minister seems to be considering the announcement of a reshuffling of his cabinet on a national day of mourning,” Youssouffa said on France Inter radio. “It’s disgraceful, contemptuous, and deeply mediocre. Nobody cares about Mayotte — it’s appalling!”

This is the first national day of mourning in response to a climate-related disaster since the Fifth Republic of France was established in the 1950s. Previous ones have been mainly to mourn former French presidents or victims of terrorist attacks.