Climate researcher Wimo criticizes France’s slow response to wildfire risk

Paris – July 29, 2026: Climate researcher Françoise Vimeux believes that France’s response to the increased risk of forest and vegetation fires is far too slow. She told Franceinfo that the scientific community has long warned about the consequences of global warming. High temperatures, lack of rainfall, and dry vegetation promote the outbreak and spread of fires. Above all, Vimeux calls for forests to be managed in a more resilient way.

Her criticism comes at a time of heightened summer fire risk. The Ministry for Ecological Transition believes that climate change is intensifying the risk, expanding it further north and west, and extending it over longer periods of the year. Preventive measures must therefore increasingly cover areas that have so far faced lower risk than France’s Mediterranean regions.

Météo-France assesses weather conditions for the outbreak and spread of fires based on temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, and vegetation dryness. According to the weather service’s projections, if temperatures in France rise by 4 degrees by the end of the century, high wildfire risk could occur regularly across the country. In several regions, the dangerous season could become one to two months longer.

Climate change is not the direct cause of individual fires. However, it creates conditions in which fires can start more easily and spread more quickly. According to the Ministry of the Environment, nine out of ten vegetation fires result from human activity. Many fires begin not inside forests, but near residential areas, transport routes, or leisure areas.

The government strategy therefore combines public awareness, forest management, spatial planning, and the preparedness of response personnel. The law of July 10, 2023 expanded the means of preventing forest and vegetation fires. These include regulations requiring the removal of flammable vegetation around buildings at risk and measures to give greater consideration to fire risk in construction projects and land use.

The third National Climate Change Adaptation Plan also contains measures to address the growing risk of vegetation fires and create more resilient forests. From June to September, daily wildfire weather maps provide information on the risk situation by department. The weather service also provides separate forecasts for fire and disaster response agencies.

Nevertheless, Vimeux sees a gap between scientifically explained risks and implementation on the ground. From her perspective, fire prevention does not stop at firefighting equipment and warning plans. It also includes managed land, less vulnerable settlement boundaries, and forests better adapted to drier and hotter conditions in the long term.