Macron mobilizes the military to step up the fight against forest fires

Lège-Cap-Ferret – 24 July 2026: President Emmanuel Macron has requested maximum support from the French armed forces for civil protection services in the fight against severe forest fires in southwestern France. According to sources close to him, the president issued this response in view of the continuing deterioration of the situation in Gironde and the Landes department, where the fires have caused numerous evacuations.

The focus of the crisis is a fire that broke out on Wednesday near Saumos, north of the Bassin d’Arcachon. On Friday, the prefecture ordered the precautionary evacuation of the entire Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula. The area is particularly densely populated during the peak tourist season; residents, holidaymakers and workers all had to leave the peninsula. Hundreds of firefighters and firefighting aircraft are deployed there.

At the same time, another forest fire near Biscarrosse, in the north of the Landes department, spread. The prefect of Landes ordered the precautionary evacuation of the municipality of Parentis-en-Born, with nearly 8,000 residents. An operational crisis command center was activated at the prefecture to coordinate firefighting, traffic measures and accommodation for those affected. The two major fires are simultaneously putting pressure on forces in the region.

Macron’s directive is primarily operational in nature. The military will not take over civilian command on the ground, but will provide specialized capabilities: transport capacity, logistics, technical equipment, military firefighting forces and support in securing deployment areas. Even before the current escalation, military units had participated in summer forest-fire prevention efforts, particularly through engineering equipment, helicopters and additional personnel.

On 23 July, the Interior Ministry also announced the trial use of an Airbus A400M military transport aircraft for firefighting operations. The aircraft is expected to be equipped with a dropping system, mainly capable of creating firebreak lines using fire retardant. It complements the Sécurité civile fleet, but does not replace its traditional firefighting aircraft. The aircraft’s short-term availability for ongoing operations initially remains unclear.

The events clearly demonstrate the institutional division of responsibilities: prefectures, firefighters and civil protection remain responsible for firefighting and evacuations. The military is deployed upon request as reinforcement when the scale, duration and simultaneous occurrence of fires in several areas exceed civilian capacities. Political responsibility lies with the Interior Ministry and the president as commander-in-chief.

For the affected coastal areas, the situation also has economic implications. The evacuations affect campsites, tourism businesses and transport infrastructure during the holiday season. However, the priority remains ensuring the safety of residents and response forces. Whether the fires at Lège-Cap-Ferret and Biscarrosse can be brought under control soon depends significantly on wind, drought conditions and the availability of additional firefighting resources.