macOS aliases vi to vim:
mymacbook:~ mikestew$ ls -lah /usr/bin/vi
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 3B Jun 7 12:21 /usr/bin/vi -> vim
Seems like Debian, as you describe it, went the reverse route for some odd reason. Is that right, I type in vim on Debian and vi runs?
(Note: Vim user here)