More than 115,000 hectares burned, mobilization of the army and crisis meeting: the executive under pressure in the face of historic fires.
The French government is facing an unprecedented situation as fires ravage the country since the start of the year. More than 115,000 hectares went up in smoke across the entire territory, including more than 42,000 hectares devastated by the Gironde “megafire”, the most devastating in the country for at least fifty years. Faced with the scale of the disaster, the executive mobilized exceptional resources, including the army, while suffering strong criticism of its preparation and crisis management.
Total government mobilization
The “megafire” in Gironde mobilized the Lecornu government, which sent the army as reinforcements and was accused of unpreparedness by the opposition. Emmanuel Macron must chair a new crisis meeting on Monday morning, while tension remains high within the executive. This last Council of Ministers before the summer break turned into an emergency meeting, in a heavy atmosphere, marked by the mobilization against exceptional fires.
The head of government chaired two interministerial crisis units this weekend, while around thirty fires were simultaneously active in Var, Landes, Haute-Corse, Hautes-Alpes and other departments. The Ministries of the Armed Forces, the Economy, Health and Transport are on alert. Train traffic from Bordeaux to the south has been cut, illustrating the direct impact of the crisis on infrastructure.
In Gironde, more than 220,000 people were evacuated, 240 homes destroyed, and 75 firefighters injured. The smoke is crossing the country from west to east, while severe heat is expected in the region from Tuesday.
For the first time, the A400M military aircraft was used against fires on Saturday. Emmanuel Macron also asked to activate the European civil protection mechanism in order to strengthen the means of combat. The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, appears on the front line in crisis management, responsible for coordinating the work of firefighters, Civil Security and law enforcement. Guest of France 2’s “20 Heures” on Sunday, he assured that his priority remains “the protection of populations” and asked everyone to show “the greatest vigilance”.
Concerning air assets, Laurent Nuñez recalled that two additional Canadairs must be delivered in 2028, then two others in 2032. Government spokesperson, Maud Bregeon, specified that “adapting the A400Ms is a little longer and more complex than a game of Lego for children”.
Political pressure and criticism
Despite the president’s call for national unity – “In these hours when the flames are severely testing our country, France reveals what it is: a united people, who stick together”, wrote Emmanuel Macron on Saturday on X – the oppositions are increasing their criticism. Insoumis Jean-Luc Mélenchon expressed his “rage” at not having seen the A400M mobilized earlier, a regret relayed by the president of the National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella.
The environmentalist left is asking the government to take the example of the Spanish socialist Prime Minister, who pleaded on Sunday for a “major state pact to face the climate emergency”. Marine Tondelier, candidate of the Ecologists, believes that “the incompetence and inconsistency of the Macronists in matters of ecology are leading us today to this nightmare”. On adaptation to climate change, “we have not gone far enough,” former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin conceded to Le Télégramme on Thursday.
The crisis has disrupted the government agenda. The traditional lunch with ministers and their spouses, planned at the Elysée Palace, was canceled. The executive power wants to project the image of a government dedicated to managing terrible fires. Ministers must adhere to strict rules during the summer break: in the event of absence, permanence must be ensured by the chief of staff or his deputy, and the destination of ministers must be “compatible with their responsibilities”. “When you are a minister, you never really cut corners,” spokesperson Maud Bregeon explains to Le Figaro. “You have to be attentive to everything, the world doesn’t stop turning in the summer.”
In this context, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Monique Barbut, announced her resignation, before remaining in office at the request of the President of the Republic, “in the face of the urgency of acting against the consequences of climate change which are hitting our country hard”.
Towards a lull?
After five days of hell, a first lull is emerging in Gironde, but the situation remains fragile. Sébastien Lecornu briefly left crisis management on Sunday to participate in the commemorations of the 10th anniversary of the Islamist attack in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, launching a call for “fraternity”, in a speech given by the prefect of Normandy and Seine-Maritime, Jean-Benoît Albertini.
