MAMOUDZOU - 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.

Nearly a week after the storm hit, the lack of potable water was testing nerves in France's poorest overseas territory.

"Seven days and you're not able to give water to the population!" one man shouted at Macron.

"Don't set people against each other. If you set people against each other, we're screwed," Macron told the crowd in the Pamandzi neighbourhood on Thursday night (Dec 19).

"You are happy to be in France. If it wasn't for France, you would be in way deeper shit, 10,000 times more, there is no place in the Indian Ocean where people receive more help."

In the past, Macron has often got in trouble with off-the-cuff remarks in public that he says are meant to "tell it like it is" but have often come across as insensitive or condescending to many French people and contributed to his sharp drop in popularity over his seven years as president.

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