Emmanuel Macron called on Monday in Bordeaux to “stay united” to win the long battle against the megafire in Gironde near Bordeaux in the south-west of France, which has already ravaged 42,000 hectares and which, after a lull, is experiencing recovery, generally “contained”, with the rise in temperatures.
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“The coming weeks will be hard and we must hold on,” said the French president, who came to provide state support to the forces mobilized against the fires in the crisis room of the departmental fire and rescue operational center (CODIS), in Bordeaux.
“We don’t do feedback in the middle of the battle,” he said in the face of emerging criticism from oppositions against, according to them, state unpreparedness. “We stay united and fight to win the battle everywhere. »
He also urged to “replant and rebuild a different forest” by adapting to “structural conditions of climate change”.
On the ground, “the fire started again at the beginning of the afternoon in the middle of the forest” near the very touristy tip of Cap Ferret, Commander Matthieu Jomain, of the departmental fire service (SDIS) of Gironde, told AFP.
Air assets were deployed, including two Czech and Slovak Black Hawk helicopters, three water bomber helicopters and Air Tractor. An A400M military aircraft carried out several delaying product drops on the sector.
Concretely, according to the firefighters, “500 hectares were covered in 24 hours” and “the day was more favorable, as hoped by the firefighters”. Overall, the fire outbreaks were “contained”.
“We will have to see how the night goes, take advantage of the hydrometry to attack decisively,” said Captain Wilfried Schneider.
According to the prefecture, 2,750 firefighters are mobilized, with the reinforcement of new European resources, as well as 18 air resources, 1,500 soldiers and 1,440 internal security forces.
There are four new injured firefighters, for a total of 88 since Wednesday. No human casualties have been reported and the toll remains at 240 homes destroyed.
Météo-France has confirmed a “new heat wave” from Tuesday, with highs of up to 40°C and slightly less strong but drier winds.
