Saint Martin, the French side of the island, has gotten a bad wrap since Hurricane Irma hit. Most assuredly, the French side is resilient and news of it’s demise has been greatly exaggerated. Of course, that doesn’t mean it escaped the wrath of Irma. But it does mean that they — like their counterparts on the Dutch side — are constructively beginning the process of rebuilding their lives.
Today, French President Emmanuel Macron landed on the island, was debriefed and then began a tour of the damage. I wanted to share some images from his tour today with you.
Macron was quoted as saying, “St Martin will be reborn, I promise.” Adding, “I will shake up all the rules and procedures so the job is done as quickly as possible. It will be done quickly, it will be done well, and it will be done better”
He went on to say that 50 million euros will be made available immediately to help start what will most certainly be a long road to recovery.
Rest assured, this is only the very beginning of the rebuilding process. There’s so much work to be done that it’s hard to conceptualize. The people need as much help as they can get so please click here to donate today.
Le président de la République, accompagné de la Préfète déléguée de #StMartin marchent à la rencontre des habitants de Grand-Case et Marigot pic.twitter.com/ncu8WHHO87
— Préfet de Guadeloupe (@Prefet971) September 12, 2017
#StMartin Le #PR aux côtés des gendarmes pour une reconnaissance des dégâts occasionnés par #Irma #Secours #GendarmerieEnOpération @Elysee pic.twitter.com/FJOyIKcnxv
— GendarmerieNationale (@Gendarmerie) September 12, 2017
La priorité est à l’action. Ensuite viendra le temps de l’évaluation. J’y suis favorable.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 12, 2017
Saint-Martin renaîtra. Je m’y engage.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 12, 2017
