Mayotte is the poorest territory of France and the European Union, and its people have accused French authorities of neglect.

Rescue workers continued to search for survivors in Mayotte, France's poorest overseas territory, on Monday in the aftermath of the worst cyclone to hit the Indian Ocean islands in nearly a century.

Local officials in the French territory Mayotte fear as many as 1,000 people have died after Tropical Cyclone Chido hit the archipelago off the coast of Mozambique on Saturday.