France, Aug. 26 -- While Mayotte's children returned to school on Monday, Lecornu said there was still a need to build and renovate schools following the deadly cyclone, which struck on 14 December, 2024.

He also raised the issue of delays in the delivery or opening of public facilities.

"These difficulties fuel an impatience that I understand and share," he wrote in a letter to the mayors of the French Indian Ocean territory on Monday, adding that progress with the reconstruction was "too slow".

A law passed in August last year provides €4bn in funding over five years to repair damage caused by the cyclone, which devastated the archipelago and killed at least 40 people.

But only 12 percent of the funding committed and allocated...