However, another Elysee official said Mr Macron was expected to attend the EU-Western Balkans summit in Brussels on Wednesday night and hold bilateral talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
It remains to be confirmed whether the French president will attend a meeting on Wednesday evening with Zelensky, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European leaders that will focus on the possibility of sending peacekeeping forces to post-war Ukraine. Not yet.
Tropical Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte Island on Saturday, causing severe damage to both human life and infrastructure. As of Tuesday evening, the official death toll was 22 people killed and 1,373 injured. But local authorities have warned that the death toll could reach into the thousands.
Efforts to determine the exact number of casualties have been hampered by the island’s large number of illegal immigrants and the predominantly Muslim tradition of burying the dead within 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said. The cyclone also affected communications capacity, with local media saying communication networks were unavailable in 80% of the territory, further complicating the assessment of the situation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed solidarity with Mayotte residents and said: “We stand ready to coordinate emergency aid from Europe.” Mayotte is currently facing shortages of water, food and fuel.
President Macron has announced a national day of mourning, but no date has yet been set.
Clea Caulcutt contributed to this report.
This story has been updated.
