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00:00Even before this week's devastating cyclone,
00:03a plethora of problems plagued Mayotte,
00:06located in the Indian Ocean 8,000 km from mainland France.
00:10Mayotte is poorer than any other part of France
00:13as 77% of its 320,000 inhabitants live in poverty,
00:18five times the national average.
00:21The islands are thus heavily dependent on financial assistance
00:24from the French government.
00:26Crime is also a major issue,
00:28with gun violence twice as frequent
00:30and a murder rate five times larger than in mainland France.
00:34At the same time, Mayotte has the fastest growing population in France,
00:38increasing nearly 4% a year,
00:41the result of a high birth rate and immigration.
00:44Even though Mayotte is much poorer than the rest of France,
00:47its GDP per capita is still eight times that of its neighbor, the Comoros,
00:52and as much as 20 times those of countries on mainland Africa.
00:56This has caused a major influx in immigration,
00:59as each year thousands of migrants try to reach Mayotte by sea
01:03and now make up nearly half of Mayotte's population.
01:06The influx of migrants has put pressure on schools,
01:09housing and the health care system.
01:12This has caused major tension and sometimes violent unrest,
01:15as Mayotte's inhabitants have grown frustrated
01:18with the strain on already scarce resources.