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An activist waving a sign: "Everything that happens to the Earth, will happen to the children of the earth", on the beach of Ipanema, Rio, August 25. MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP

Under international pressure, Brazil is deploying the army to deal with fires, whose number continues to grow. A decision taken in an emergency. Demonstrations took place in several Brazilian cities in defense of the Amazon and against President Jair Bolsonaro. But the diplomatic dispute between France and Brazil is gaining momentum. The French Embassy in Brasilia has even been targeted.

With our correspondent in Rio , François Cardona

Demonstrations in favor of the Amazon have gathered several thousand people in several major cities of the country as in Rio, with the support of personalities, artists and left-wing politics. Parades to denounce fire management by Jair Bolsonaro.

" The Amazon is essential : not only because it is the lungs of the planet, it is home to indigenous communities who are increasingly victims of agribusiness, which wants to destroy forest, animals and its inhabitants! "Betina, 28, a pharmacist came with her friends, face and hands painted red to challenge passersby.

Accelerated deforestation

Deforestation accelerated under the government of Jair Bolsonaro. For the moment, the resources allocated to the fight against fires are insufficient, that is what came to denounce Ilda, 55, accompanied by her children.

" It's important that the people go down the street, because Bolsonaro has offered Brazil to the very rich. He works hand in hand with large companies, and landowners who believe that the Amazon is theirs , "she said.

Badly perceived pressures

Several other demonstrations took place in the country, but the mobilization for the Amazon was not however of great magnitude.

Singer Caetano Veloso (center) alongside Brazilian MP David Miranda (right) during a protest for the Amazon in Rio on August 25th. MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP

Sunday, August 25, other events also took place, in support of the Brazilian president, and his Minister of Justice, much criticized. In Brasilia, the capital, a group of dozens of people broke away from the main parade to protest in front of the French Embassy, ​​with slogans very hostile to Emmanuel Macron.

The pressures of the French president are very badly perceived within the government in Brasilia. The Minister of Education did not hesitate to write on Twitter that Emmanuel Macron was an " idiotic idiot " - causing controversy.

A França uma nação de extremos. Gerou homens como Descartes or Pasteur, porem também os voluntários da Waffen SS Charlemagne. País de iluministas and comunistas. O Macron não esta altura deste embate. É apenas um calhorda oportunista buscando apoio do lobby agrícola francês.

Abraham Weintraub (@AbrahamWeint) August 25, 2019

Yet there is urgency: according to the latest figures that have just been published by the Brazilian National Institute of Space Research. 26,900 fires were recorded in August in the Amazon, more than double compared to last year. To allow the army to deploy in the affected areas, the Brazilian government has released about 8 million euros.

►Also read: Brazil: Forest fires in Amazonia turn to international crisis