Two months after Chido, the law on the reconstruction of Mayotte definitively adopted

Consensual, this emergency law mainly provides for relaxations in town planning and public procurement rules, as well as some social measures, such as tax breaks.

After the unanimous Assembly on Wednesday, the Senate adopted on Thursday midday, by show of hands, this text resulting from a consultation between deputies and senators.

This is only a "first response", commented the Minister for Overseas Territories Manuel Valls on this occasion. "After the time of emergency and reconstruction, will come that of rebuilding".

A second text, aimed at "enabling the economic, educational and social development of the territory on new bases" is already in preparation, and will be presented "within a few weeks", the minister indicated.

But unlike the emergency law, this time it will have to contain measures on immigration, which are much less consensual.

This emergency law is the first bill to be completed from start to finish by François Bayrou's government - the state budget having been prepared by his predecessor Michel Barnier.

Mayotte "wants something solid"

Mayotte, France's poorest department in the Indian Ocean, was hit on December 14 by the deadly cyclone Chido, which caused considerable damage -- the "cost of destruction" is estimated at around 3,5 billion euros, according to Mr. Valls.

The bill provides for the creation of a new public institution responsible for reconstruction.

It enacts measures to quickly rebuild schools, and charges the State with this responsibility in place of the communities until the end of 2027, at the request of the municipalities.

It exempts from planning permission temporary constructions intended to house personnel sent for reconstruction, to shelter destroyed public service offices, or to create removable classrooms. But the maximum duration of these constructions has been limited to two years.

"I reiterate here our strong reservations about these modular constructions," declared Estelle Youssouffa, MP for this department (centrist Liot group) and rapporteur of the text, on Wednesday. "Mayotte, I say it here, wants something solid, sustainable, concrete for its reconstruction."

"We will be very vigilant about the measures contained in this emergency law. We will review the application of these provisions every month," Mayotte Senator Saïd Omar Oili also warned on Thursday.

The text also includes a measure for owners, who will be able to take out a zero-interest loan to renovate their homes, up to 50.000 euros.

The automatic renewal of rights and social benefits for Mahoran residents has been postponed until June 30, without justification.

Two reports are also planned: one on the toll, particularly in human terms, of the disaster, which officially left 40 dead, and the other on the disparities between the amounts of social benefits paid in Mayotte and in mainland France.

Slums

The issue of shanty towns, intrinsically linked to the migration question, had caused tension in the debates. The left thus protested against a measure aimed at making the sale of sheet metal conditional on the presentation of an identity document and proof of address, which de facto excludes undocumented immigrants.

"The obligation to provide proof of an address in order to build or rebuild one's home after a cyclone does not correspond to our vision of equality, nor to our concept of humanism," criticized environmentalist senator Antoinette Guhl on Thursday.

For the second bill expected in the spring, Manuel Valls indicated that he was working with his colleague from the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, and argued for a "much firmer relationship with the neighboring Comoros Islands", where most of the immigrants come from.

As avenues, Mr. Valls notably cited the extension of assistance for voluntary returns and the increase in the removal of illegal immigrants.

Last week, the deputies also adopted a bill brought forward by the right and supported by the government, extending the period of regular residence of parents required for their children to obtain French nationality.