LFI MP Clouet attacks government over wildfire preparedness

Paris – 28 July 2026: As emergency services battle major forest and vegetation fires in several regions of France, MP Hadrien Clouet has sharply attacked the government. The politician from the left-wing party La France insoumise appeared on the program “8h30 franceinfo” on Tuesday. There, he criticized the state’s handling of the fires, the resources available to civil protection, and the government’s climate policy direction.

Clouet represents a constituency in the Haute-Garonne department in the National Assembly. His intervention comes amid a situation that the state itself describes as exceptional: according to the Interior Ministry, 116,085 hectares have burned in France since the beginning of the year. Emergency services are currently under particular strain in Gironde, the Landes department, Var, and Corsica.

The opposition’s criticism focuses on whether France prepared its civil protection services early enough for more frequent and more intense fires. Clouet linked the immediate danger to the climate crisis and called for preparedness not to be limited to short-term responses during a fire. What is needed, he said, are permanently adequate staffing levels, equipment, and preventive measures.

The government rejects the accusation that it has done too little to protect against fires. Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said on 27 July that resources for civil protection had been significantly expanded over the past nine years. The Interior Ministry points to seasonally leased helicopters, firefighting aircraft, and specialized vehicles operated by fire services. Whether these capacities are sufficient in a season with several simultaneous major fires remains a matter of political dispute.

The ongoing operations also reveal the limits of even extensive resources. According to the Interior Ministry, a fire remained active south of Arcachon Bay; by the latest situation report, around 30,000 people had been evacuated there. In dry conditions, heat, and wind, fires can spread within a short time. The protection and provision of entire communities then depend on local warnings, functioning evacuation routes, and available firefighting personnel.

The Council of Ministers also specifically addressed forest fires and drought on 27 July. President Emmanuel Macron said that national resources would remain fully mobilized in light of several major fires. At the same time, investment in prevention, the restoration of damaged forests, and adaptation to longer periods of drought is to continue.

Clouet’s appearance thus intensifies a domestic political debate over the lessons of increasingly severe fire seasons. While the government points to the expansion of operational resources, the opposition is calling for longer-term planning. In the affected areas, the latest reliable assessment remains unchanged for now: tens of thousands of people have had to leave their homes while firefighters and civil protection services battle several fire fronts at once.