France held a national day of mourning for Mayotte, its Indian Ocean territory devastated by a violent cyclone on Dec. 14, beginning in the morning on Monday with a minute of silence for the scores of residents left dead by the storm.

France marked a day of mourning Monday for victims of Cyclone Chido, which devastated its poorest territory, Mayotte, over a week ago.

France is to hold a day of national mourning after Cyclone Chido devastated its Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte earlier this month. French President Emmanuel Macron called for the nationwide remembrance during his visit to the island last week - where he was jeered by some islanders who criticised the slow delivery of aid.

When Cyclone Chido ravaged Mayotte’s fragile infrastructure, it also exposed deep-seated tensions between the island’s residents and its large migrant population. Thousands of people who have entered the island illegally bore the brunt of the storm that tore through the Indian Ocean archipelago — France's poorest