Senators and deputies agree on a compromise text for the reconstruction of Mayotte

The text resulting from a joint committee bringing together 14 parliamentarians from both chambers was voted "unanimously" by voters after "calm debates", with senators and deputies "clearly aware that there is an urgent need to implement reconstruction", said Macronist MP Marie Lebec, confirming the statements of several other parliamentarians interviewed by AFP.

The agreement paves the way for the final adoption of the first bill of François Bayrou's government, after a final vote in the National Assembly scheduled for Wednesday and then in the Senate on Thursday.

Consensual, although considered very insufficient by many elected officials, the bill mainly provides for relaxations in town planning and public procurement rules and some social measures, such as tax breaks or reductions in social security contributions.

The compromise reached notably confirmed an exemption from planning permission for temporary constructions intended to house staff sent for the reconstruction, to house public service offices whose premises were destroyed, or to create removable classrooms.

Removed by the National Assembly, this measure was reintroduced in a more "secure" version by the senators, notably establishing a maximum duration of two years for these temporary constructions.

At the request of elected officials from Mayotte, a majority of deputies opposed these temporary constructions, seeing a risk that they would be perpetuated after the reconstruction.

The deputies and senators also agreed to postpone from March 31 to June 30 the automatic renewal of rights and social benefits for Mahoran residents, without justification.

They maintained a measure introduced by the government in the upper house for owners, who will be able to take out a zero-interest loan to rehabilitate their homes, up to a limit of 50.000 euros.

Finally, they have notably reinstated two requests for government reports introduced by the deputies, but deleted in the Senate, one concerning the toll, in particular human, of the catastrophe, which officially caused 39 deaths, and the other on the disparities between the amounts of social benefits paid in Mayotte and those paid in mainland France.