LVMH has decided to support the fight against fires in the Amazon to the tune of 10 million euros, announced Monday the luxury group.

The French luxury group LVMH announced Monday it will support the fight against fires in the Amazon to the tune of 10 million euros, more than half of the amount already promised by members of the G7. LVMH has "decided to join this approach by contributing up to 10 million euros to what must be a collective effort," said the company in a statement, citing CEO Bernard Arnault and Yann Arthus-Bertrand , a photographer known for his aerial views of the planet and a member of the group's board of directors.

Earlier Monday, the G7 summit meeting in Biarritz promised to urgently release $ 20 million (17.94 million euros) to send air bombers fire fighting planes in the Amazon. In addition to sending a fleet against the flames, to which France will provide military support for its forces in French Guiana, the G7 has agreed to a plan for aid for reforestation, at the UN to be finalized during the United Nations General Assembly in late September. This "initiative for the Amazon" will require the agreement of Brazil and other eight Amazon states, in connection with NGOs and local populations.

An effort that must be collective

Messrs. Bernard Arnault and Yann Arthus-Bertrand, welcoming this initiative, "call all those who share like them the belief that the Amazon, a treasure of the world's natural heritage must be safeguarded, to (y) participate," says LVMH in his communicated. "France is, alongside its very big neighbor Brazil and its other South American neighbors, partly responsible for the destiny of this immense forest, which is also what inspired the Group's approach, which is also involved with UNESCO in the defense of biodiversity around the world, "they added.

Guyana, the French territory of South America, borders Brazil. Nearly 80,000 forest fires have been reported in Brazil since the beginning of the year, including just over half in the Amazon. Under international pressure, Brazil finally came into action on Sunday in the Amazon, sending in particular two C-130 Hercules planes. After the fire that ravaged Notre-Dame de Paris in mid-April, the LVMH Group, the world's leading luxury goods company, and the Arnault family had announced a donation of 200 million euros to the fund dedicated to the reconstruction of the cathedral.