Paris (France) (AFP)

Emmanuel Macron estimated Wednesday that the overseas collectivities of the Pacific, largely untouched by the epidemic of the coronavirus and which have already started to deconfinate, could be "pilot" territories for the deconfinement of the hexagon on May 11 .

In the presence of the Minister of Overseas Annick Girardin, the Head of State held a videoconference with the leaders and elected officials of New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesia, where he was originally to go mid -April.

In an introductory remarks, he thanked them for their management of the epidemic, which sometimes involved the closure of the territories and hailed "real results in the end".

"I really think that we can make overseas territories" pilot "territories in terms of deconfinement" for France, he launched, before a discussion on including support for the tourism sector.

Very well preserved, New Caledonia, which relaxed its containment measures from April 20, has only 18 cases. With only 58 cases, Polynesia has also started deconfinement and this week continues that of Tahiti and Moorea, the two most populated islands which have concentrated the majority of cases.

No case is identified in Wallis-and-Futuna, the only French territory inhabited uncontaminated.

However, the epidemic hit Guyana and Mayotte more severely, weakened by poverty and limited health capacity.

In Mayotte, there are more than 354 cases (for a population of between 256,000 inhabitants officially and 400,000 according to certain policies, counting illegal immigrants).

The community of Guyana, which has more than 120 cases and one death, voted unanimously on Tuesday not to reopen colleges and high schools on May 11.

The 6,000 residents of the Saint-Pierre and Miquelon archipelago, with only one confirmed case, started to come out of the confinement on Monday.

Some 4 million euros must be distributed for food aid in the overseas territories, notably in Mayotte, Guyana and Saint-Martin.

The Antilles are also affected: Martinique has the highest number of deaths (14 for 175 cases) in overseas communities, followed by Guadeloupe, with 49 cases and 11 deaths, a rate which is explained in particular because these islands have a large proportion of elderly people. Saint Barth and Saint Martin together have 44 cases and 3 deaths.

Martinique had warned last week that it would be impossible to reopen colleges and high schools in May, according to President of the Executive Council Alfred Marie-Jeanne.

© 2020 AFP