Live: Emmanuel Macron in Gironde after the devastating fires

Published on: 20/07/2022 – 15:56 Emmanuel Macron went to Gironde on Wednesday, hit for more than a week by two gigantic fires which “progressed very little” overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday but were not still not fixed. The president will travel to La Teste-de-Buch, in the Arcachon basin, then to Langon, to the Landiras fire command post, 40 km south of Bordeaux. The two “outstanding” fires that have been ravaging the Gironde for more than a week were still not fixed on Wednesday July 20 but their progress slowed down overnight with the improvement in weather conditions, while Emmanuel Macron returned to the scene in the afternoon. Faced with this disaster, the President of the Republic “requested (…) the requisition of two civilian helicopters” which will come “as of today” to reinforce the arsenal of the fight against the fires, announced the government spokesman, Olivier Véran, during the report of the Council of Ministers. Largest European fleet Faced with criticism from some elected officials on insufficient means, the executive has focused in recent days to explain that France, which already has “the largest European fleet” of planes and helicopters equipped for firefighting, has already increased the means of Civil Security during the previous five-year period and plans to increase them again during the current mandate.>> To read: “Fires in Gironde: an ecological disaster and forest management to be rethought” “Even before these fires, we had orders for new generation devices that were operational”, underlined Olivier Véran, announcing the “imminent” delivery of a water bomber plane and a “finalized order” for two other aircraft. On the ground, “the fire progressed very little” last night, reported the prefecture of Gironde Wednesday morning on Twitter. 🔥#FiresGironde
The fire made very little progress last night: a total of 20,600 ha burned (7,000 in #LaTesteDeBuch and 13,600 in #Landiras).
➡️ No new evacuation. No casualties.
➡️ Significant land and air resources remain mobilized on the fire front. pic.twitter.com/OOXpmPj6Pt— Prefect of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Gironde (@PrefAquitaine33) July 20, 2022 The total area burned by the two fires that started last Tuesday now stands at 20,600 hectares (compared to 20,300 in a situation update at 11:00 p.m. Tuesday): 7,000 hectares in La Teste-de-Buch, near Arcachon, and 13,600 hectares in Landiras, near Langon, specifies the prefecture. A situation always “complicated” Regarding the Landiras fire, in the south of the department, on the ninth day of the disaster, “the situation is less unfavourable”, with a fire which “progresses less quickly”, but “it remains complicated”, Vincent Ferrier told the press , sub-prefect of Langon. “At this stage we are not considering new evacuations” but “we remain cautious”, he added during a press briefing in the early morning. A caution also displayed by the sub-prefect of Arcachon, Ronan Léaustic, during a press briefing on Wednesday morning about the fire ie de La Teste, evoking “a satisfying night” and “an encouraging day” in perspective.>> To read: “Charred campsites in Gironde: ‘We thought we were coming back but in the end we lost everything!'”While the fire ” did not progress overnight”, “we are rather confident even if we remain vigilant and concerned” and “extremely cautious”, he explained. “It is a fire that has been so special from the start ( …) that we would be careful not to estimate that the difficulty is behind us”, even if the situation may “seem more favorable than in recent days”, he added, specifying that the human and material means mobilized Tuesday “will be just as much today”. The situation also seems to be improving on the front of the fire which broke out on Monday in the town of Brasparts, within the regional natural park of Armorique, in the Finistère.”At this time, the progression of the fire is slowing down and the situation is under control,” said the prefect of Fini stere early in the morning on Twitter, stating that nearly 300 firefighters were still hard at work in the face of this fire which at this stage has covered 1,725 ​​hectares. #fire#Finistère🔥 The progression of the fire is slowing down and the situation is still under control.👉 The reinforcement of a Dash water bomber plane has been made available by the prefect of the Brittany region
👉 3 drops have been made since this morning https://t.co/maotYfWW3X— Prefect of Finistère (@Prefet29) July 20, 2022 With Reuters