PARIS
\nEmmanuel Macron will not attend Thursday\u2019s European Council meeting in Brussels as he heads to Mayotte, a French oversea territory in the Indian Ocean coping with the aftermath of a devastating tropical cyclone.
\nMacron will be represented at the council by his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, \u201cin accordance with established practice between France and Germany,\u201d the French presidency said in a statement. He will attend Wednesday evening\u2019s EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels, it added.
\nAccording to an official from the Elys\u00e9e Palace, the conclusions of the European Council summit have been \u201cpre-agreed\u201d and there are no \u201cdrafting issues\u201d that are likely to emerge. \u201cThe French positions were included in the preparations phase,\u201d said the official in a briefing with the reporters.
\nMacron will however attend Wednesday evening\u2019s EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels, and will have a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said another Elys\u00e9e official.
\nIt is not yet confirmed whether the French president will attend a meeting Wednesday evening with Zelenskyy, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and several European leaders, that would focus on the possible deployment of a peacekeeping force to post war Ukraine.
\nTropical cyclone Chido struck Mayotte on Saturday, causing extensive damage to both lives and infrastructure. As of Tuesday evening, the official toll stood at 22 dead and 1,373 injured. However, local authorities warn the death toll could reach several thousand.
\nEfforts to determine the exact number of casualties have been hindered by the island\u2019s significant population of undocumented migrants and its predominantly Muslim tradition of burying the dead within 24 hours, according to the Interior Ministry. The cyclone also affected communication capacities, with the telecom network being unavailable on 80 percent of the territory according to local media, making it even more complicated to assess the situation.
\nEU Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen expressed her solidarity with the people of Mayotte and said she was \u201cready to coordinate emergency aid from Europe.\u201d Mayotte is currently facing water, food and fuel shortages.
\nMacron has announced a day of nationwide mourning, the date of which has not yet been set.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS Emmanuel Macron will not attend Thursday\u2019s European Council meeting in Brussels as he heads to Mayotte, a French oversea territory in the Indian Ocean coping with the aftermath of a devastating tropical cyclone. Macron will be represented at the council by his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, \u201cin accordance with established practice between France and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-450286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n