Canadair controversy: Attal refuted Mélenchon’s accusations, but documents support the budgetary impact

Paris – July 16, 2026: The debate over the replacement of France’s firefighting aircraft fleet has intensified between Gabriel Attal and Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The former prime minister rejected accusations that his government had blocked the acquisition of two additional Canadair aircraft. During a TV appearance on July 15, Attal stated that Mélenchon had distorted the facts. He stressed that two new aircraft had been ordered during his term in office.

This statement is only partly true. The state contract for two DHC-515 amphibious firefighting aircraft was indeed concluded in August 2024, while Attal was still head of government. According to the government and its Canadian contractual partner, the aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in 2028. They are part of the European disaster response program rescEU, which organizes joint procurement and the mutual provision of response assets.

However, the core of the controversy lies in an earlier budget decision. Decree No. 2024-124 of February 21, 2024, cut €52.7 million from the spending authorization for the civil security program. The decree does not mention the aircraft individually. However, a Senate budget report from November 2024 states that this cut forced the Directorate-General for Civil Security and Crisis Management to abandon the possibility of ordering two Canadair aircraft.

A parliamentary inquiry in 2025 also confirmed this connection. The Directorate-General for Civil Security confirmed to several media outlets that the savings measure had prevented the procurement of two additional aircraft. Attal’s side, meanwhile, argues that the reduction was part of a general spending adjustment and was not aimed at a specific contract. Politically, however, this only limits the former prime minister’s responsibility to a limited extent. There is a demonstrable link between the budget decision and the abandonment of the option.

The conflict is further intensified by two different procurement procedures. Attal can point to the two DHC-515 aircraft firmly ordered in 2024, while Mélenchon refers to two additional aircraft for which funding had previously been planned but which were abandoned after the budget cuts. The original political objective set after the major wildfires of 2022 was far broader. President Emmanuel Macron had announced the replacement of the 12 Canadair aircraft then in service and the acquisition of four additional aircraft.

The 2026 civil security budget currently includes two additional DHC-515 aircraft, provided the budget law remains in this form. However, deployment of these aircraft is not expected until the end of 2032 or 2033. The debate highlights a structural problem: short-term budget decisions coincide with extremely long production and delivery periods. Therefore, beyond Canadair aircraft, eight Dash aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, leased helicopters and firefighting aircraft remain crucial for wildfire response capacity.