French President Emmanuel Macron has faced jeers from locals on the cyclone-battered French overseas territory of Mayotte, telling them they should be “happy to be in France, because if it wasn’t France you’d be 10,

By Tassilo Hummel MAMOUDZOU (Reuters) -Angry residents of a Mayotte neighbourhood damaged by Cyclone Chido heckled French President Emmanuel Macron, who replied they would be in "deeper shit" without France as he toured the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Angry residents of Mayotte, the French overseas territory hit by a cyclone, confronted French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit, Euronews reported on Friday, as the European Union pledged financial aid to support the region's recovery.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in the French territory of Mayotte on Thursday to assess damage from the most powerful storm to hit the area in nearly a century.

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Mayotte as the French Indian Ocean territory continues to reel from the devastation of Cyclone Chido. Macron landed in Mayotte on Thursday morning and said he brought four tonnes of food and health cargo with him.

Cyclone Chido not only ravaged Mayotte’s fragile infrastructure but also laid bare deep-seated tensions between the island’s residents and its large migrant population

France is holding a national day of mourning for Mayotte, its Indian Ocean territory devastated by a deadly cyclone on Dec. 14, on Monday, beginning with a minute of silence at 11:00 a.m. (1000 GMT).