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

Paris – July 16, 2026: The dispute over the renewal of France’s firefighting aircraft fleet has further escalated between Gabriel Attal and Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The former prime minister rejected accusations that his government had prevented the purchase of two additional Canadair aircraft. In a television appearance on July 15, Attal said Mélenchon was distorting the facts. He pointed out that two new aircraft had been ordered during his term of office.

This claim reflects only part of the facts. The national order for two DHC-515 amphibious firefighting aircraft was indeed completed in August 2024, when Attal was still head of government. According to the government and Canadian contract partners, the aircraft will be delivered in 2028. They are part of the European disaster protection program rescEU, which organizes joint procurement and the mutual provision of emergency resources.

However, the core of the dispute lies in an earlier budget decision. Decree No. 2024-124 of February 21, 2024, reduced payment authorizations in the civil protection program by €52.70 million. The decree did not mention aircraft individually, but a Senate budget report stated in November 2024 that this cut forced the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Crisis Management to abandon the possibility of ordering two Canadair aircraft.

A parliamentary inquiry in 2025 also established this link. The civil protection directorate confirmed to several media outlets that these savings prevented the procurement of two additional aircraft. People close to Attal, meanwhile, pointed out that the cuts were part of an overall spending adjustment and did not specifically affect a single contract. But this only limitedly reduces the former prime minister’s political responsibility: there is a verifiable link between the budget decision and the abandonment of the option.

Two different procurement processes further intensify the conflict. Attal can refer to the two DHC-515 aircraft formally ordered in 2024; Mélenchon can refer to two additional aircraft for which funding had originally been planned but which lost financing after the credit cuts. Following severe forest fires in 2022, the initial political goal was clearly broader: President Emmanuel Macron had announced the renewal of the fleet, then consisting of 12 Canadair aircraft, and the purchase of four additional aircraft.

At present, the 2026 civil protection budget includes provisions for two additional DHC-515 aircraft, provided the budget takes effect in this form. However, they are not expected to be delivered until the end of 2032 or 2033. This reveals a structural problem in the debate: short-term budget decisions collide with extremely long production and delivery cycles. Therefore, in addition to Canadair aircraft, eight Dash aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, and leased helicopters and firefighting aircraft remain essential for forest fire response capacity.