This summer again, the Mediterranean coastline is ravaged by flames. In Hérault, Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard and Pyrénées-Orientales, several fire outbreaks mobilized thousands of firefighters. In Aude, the fire that broke out on Wednesday July 1 quickly grew, requiring significant air resources, including three Canadairs. However, the latter did not carry out airdrops due to the presence of residents in the disaster areas.
This year, the fire season began about two weeks ahead of the usual schedule, according to Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. The cause: particularly dry vegetation after the June heatwave, high temperatures and violent winds in the south of the country. Increasingly earlier and more frequent, these fires require regular recourse to aerial resources, even though the French fleet is considered aging and insufficient.
Civil Security has a fleet made up of twelve Canadairs, eight Dash capable of dropping water or retardant, as well as three Beechcraft planes, for reconnaissance and coordination of operations. But each year, some of these devices are immobilized for maintenance. French canadairs, with an average age of around thirty years, are subject to heavy wear linked to their intensive use and to corrosion caused by scooping at sea, which requires regular and heavy maintenance operations lasting four to six weeks each winter.
Four Canadians in delivery
For the 2026 season, availability is generally better than in previous years, but it remains incomplete. Ten aircraft were operational at the start of the summer campaign, and an eleventh was due to join the fleet during the month of July. Another Canadair has remained unavailable for more than a year following an accident in Corsica in May 2025. Thus, if France officially has twelve aircraft, only eleven can be mobilized during the summer. On the Dash side, one aircraft is also under maintenance, bringing the operational fleet to seven aircraft.
However, four new Canadairs should join the French fleet in the coming years. Two of them, ordered two years ago, will arrive on French soil in 2028, and two additional aircraft will be delivered by 2032. Ultimately, the Civil Security fleet should therefore include 16 amphibious water bomber aircraft. At the same time, France is also exploring complementary solutions, notably firefighting aircraft derived from regional models.
This situation regularly fuels criticism of France’s dependence on foreign manufacturers, with Canadairs being produced exclusively in Canada. It also highlights the operational limits of these air assets.
Mainly based in Nîmes-Garons (Gard), their response times may vary depending on the distance to be covered. Their effectiveness also depends on the presence of bodies of water nearby for scooping, as well as weather conditions, particularly wind, which can reduce their capacity for action or even prevent releases.
