French President Macron in an angry dialogue with frustrated residents on the hurricane-hit island of Mayotte

French President Emmanuel Macron faced widespread frustration and anger from residents of the island of Mayotte during his visit to the archipelago located in the Indian Ocean, which is still suffering damage from the strongest hurricane to hit the region in nearly a century.

On Friday morning, Macron visited a neighborhood in Tsingoni, on Mayotte’s main island, where people are still without drinking water or phone service nearly a week after Hurricane Chido.

As he walked through the area, some shouted: “We want water, we want water!”

Mayotte, with a population of 320,000 and an estimated 100,000 additional immigrants, is the poorest department in France. The hurricane destroyed entire neighborhoods, with many people ignoring the warnings, believing that the storm would not be very severe.

Unable to see the above embed? Watch the angry exchange here.

The tension was evident on Thursday evening, when Macron was met with boos from dozens of residents in Bamandzi, on the island of Petite Terre, during the final leg of his first day in Mayotte.

People expressed frustration at the slow pace of relief efforts, with one woman making an impassioned plea and resisting Macron’s attempts to put his hand on her shoulder or take the microphone to respond.

Eventually, Macron got a microphone from someone else and said: “I had nothing to do with the hurricane. You can blame me, (but) it wasn’t me!”

In his speech to the audience, he acknowledged their suffering.

“You have been through something terrible. Everyone is suffering, regardless of skin colour,” he said, urging unity.

Macron, in turn, became angry and shouted that if it were not for France, the population would be in a situation “10,000 times worse.”

The French President added: “There is no place in the Indian Ocean where people get this much help!” A woman can be heard saying, “We disagree.”

Dozens of healthcare workers are missing

Macron is known for his appetite for debate, and he is accustomed to being in crowds and confronting people who are angry with him. He explained that he stayed for two days on the island of Mayotte out of “respect and consideration” for the residents.

The French President received a warm welcome in Tsingoni on Friday morning. People urged him to help, with some taking selfies with him and others showing him their children.

Meanwhile, French military and local authorities were scrambling to repair broken water pipes across the islands and get water to villages that didn’t have any.

In the village of Mererini, about 35 kilometers outside the capital of Mayotte in the north, civil security officers were trying to remove a large, downed mango tree that had broken a water pipe.

The pipeline provides water to about 10,000 people in three nearby villages. But officials say it may take a little longer than usual to fix it due to heat affecting the equipment.

Local residents said they were concerned that water shortages could cause diseases. Earlier this year, there was a cholera outbreak on the island, with at least 200 cases.

French authorities said that at least 31 people died during the hurricane and about 2,500 people were injured, including 67 in serious condition. But it is feared that hundreds or even thousands of people may have died in the densely populated area.

French Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussek said on Friday that 17% of hospital workers and 40% of all regional health workers in the archipelago are still missing.

“This means about 60 to 70 people,” she told France Info news channel, stressing that a large part of the population still does not have access to telephone services.