Guillaume Dominguez, edited by Solène Leroux 06:59, August 16, 2022

Since the beginning of the summer, 62,000 hectares have gone up in smoke.

A season that also reveals the limits of our strategy to fight these fires.

Nearly 1,500 firefighters specializing in forest fires are spread throughout France.

This summer, it was necessary to mobilize the whole system to fight against these numerous fires.

"Give a little oxygen to the victims of the Fires of Summer."

A metaphor by Gabriel Attal to announce the establishment of a fire unit within a week.

The key to tax assistance.

The Minister of Public Accounts has already mentioned measures: an additional period of deduction at source and the suspension of local taxes.

Since the beginning of the summer, 62,000 hectares have gone up in smoke.

An early and violent season which also reveals the limits of our strategy to fight these fires.

Our fire protection system is one of the most efficient in the world.

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More than 10,000 mobilized men

Nearly 1,500 firefighters specializing in forest fires are divided into 24 groups throughout France.

In the event of a fire, they are supported by staff from departmental services, volunteer firefighters and air resources, ie more than 10,000 men in total.

However, for the first time this summer, because of the extreme weather conditions, it was necessary to mobilize the whole system to fight against the numerous fires.

A device designed to last until 2030

For Grégory Allione, president of the National Federation of Firefighters, it is the whole application of the model that must be reviewed.

"Our system, which was designed with national solidarity which allowed the departments north of the Loire to come to the aid of the departments of the south, is completely undermined because the departments of the north of the Loire and of the entire metropolitan area are subject to forest fires", he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. "So the means are out of capacity, whether in terms of material means, but also of human means to deal with it."

The device had however been designed to last until 2030, taking into account climate change.

So, faced with the urgency of the situation, the representatives of the firefighters of France sounded the alarm in a column published in the

Journal du Dimanche

.

They demand that the financial means allocated to the fight against forest fires be multiplied by two.