Successive heatwaves across Western Europe through May, June, July and August have propelled one of the biggest wildfire crises the continent has ever seen. Extreme dryness and drought, combined with the most severe, prolonged heat ever experienced, created the conditions for Australian-style bushfires in several countries.
France was hit particularly hard, with temperatures reaching 44 degrees in the south-west. Hundreds of fires spread throughout the country in July and August, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes, and straining emergency services, which were incapable of dealing with the firestorms and ill-equipped for the extreme conditions.
Joe Allen, a US-based socialist and author, spoke to French firefighter and trade unionist Sébastien Delavoux about the situation and the political fallout as firefighters demand more resources.
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers and describe the working conditions over the last two months?
I am a trade unionist with the CGT (General Confederation of Labour), the second-largest trade union in the country and the second-largest among firefighters, defending the interests of fire and rescue service personnel. I am 48 years old. I have been a firefighter for 32 years, and it has been my profession for 27 years.
For some time now, I have been confined to representing my colleagues in the union, but I have field agents on the phone every day, and I work in a rescue centre. Since 13 July, it has been very intense: every day, contacts with journalists to answer their questions or find them an interlocutor to give testimony.
The fires in Europe received extensive media coverage in the United States, but without in-depth analysis or historical context. Can you describe how terrible this situation was for civilians and firefighters? This was not a sudden event.
Indeed, this is not a sudden or unforeseen phenomenon; scientists have been warning us for decades. As of 22 August, 160,000 hectares have burned, 450 houses have been destroyed, four firefighters have died in the line of duty, and firefighters have lost 30 vehicles destroyed by fire or accident. At the height of the fires in late July, 72 fire brigades (more than 7,200 personnel) were deployed, which is unprecedented. Even so, this was insufficient, as urban vehicles were ill-suited to fighting forest fires in the middle of the forest! Hundreds of thousands of people, residents and tourists alike, have been evacuated.
Since 1973, seventeen forest fires have exceeded 5,000 hectares, including six since 2021; this is the reality of the global warming we were told about, and we are not ready.
How have French firefighters and public sector unions reacted to the fire crisis? Some media outlets are reporting a planned national strike to demand more resources and concrete measures from the Macron government.
Before the fires, in an inter-union group comprising the nine representative trade union organisations, we challenged the prime minister (in April) and met with members of his cabinet on 27 May to tell him that the Civil Security service [the agency responsible for coordinating national emergency responses and disaster relief] is completely inadequate!
We need to increase the budgets of fire and rescue services, increase the number of professionals, increase the number of vehicles, rethink the organisation of Civil Security and establish a real strategy for this public service.
What was the physical and mental impact of the fire crisis on French firefighters?
Fatigue and fear: facing 40-metre flames in unbearable temperatures is not done without fear, and that’s natural. Forest fire operations are very physically demanding; we sleep little, and we work day and night.
The European and international scale of the fire crisis requires better coordination between firefighters’ unions. Have any political initiatives been taken in this regard?
This year in particular, many countries have been affected: France, Portugal, Spain, Greece; thousands of hectares burned, many houses destroyed, deaths including firefighters.
Each country needs to increase its human and material resources because we need to prepare for major fires occurring simultaneously in several European countries. We must have the means to protect the inhabitants without exposing firefighters to mortal danger to extinguish forest fires.
Are there any upcoming actions by your union?
To force the government to find funding solutions for our services, we are organising an occupation of the Place de la République in Paris from 26 to 29 September and a large demonstration on 29 September. Other professions also want to carry out actions in support of our movement. There will be further actions after 29 September, and at the moment there are many actions being taken towards local and national elected officials to plead our cause.
