Clouet Calls for Special Session on Wildfires

Paris – 28 July 2026: In view of the large-scale forest and vegetation fires in France, Hadrien Clouet, an MP from La France insoumise, is calling for an extraordinary session of the National Assembly. He speaks of a failure of the state and accuses the government of weakening civil protection financially and materially. Clouet is demanding a parliamentary debate on firefighting capacity, staffing, prevention and adaptation to more frequent extreme events.

The initiative comes amid an acute emergency situation. According to the Interior Ministry, 116,085 hectares burned nationwide from the beginning of the year through 27 July. The departments of Gironde and Landes have been particularly affected. Major fires there were still not fully under control at the end of last week. Tens of thousands of people had to leave their homes or holiday accommodation as a precaution. Security forces supported the evacuations and secured the operational areas.

Clouet’s attack intensifies the debate over the capacity of the Sécurité civile. The MP criticizes previous budget decisions and questions the government’s figures on available resources and planned investments. His statements are political allegations. There has been no parliamentary inquiry or judicial finding of state misconduct.

The Interior Ministry points to the ongoing mobilization. According to its own figures, 51 interregional reinforcement columns with 3,500 personnel and more than 700 specialized vehicles are on standby, seven more columns than during the fires in summer 2022. These are supplemented by units of the militarily organized civil protection service as well as additional air and ground resources. However, the increase says little about whether procurement, staffing plans and prevention will be sufficient to meet the growing risk in the long term.

The institutional route for Clouet’s demand is narrow. Under Article 29 of the French Constitution, Parliament may be convened for an extraordinary session with a set agenda at the request of the Prime Minister or a majority of the members of the National Assembly. If a session convened at the request of MPs has ended, only the Prime Minister may request another one within the following month. It is opened and closed by decree of the President of the Republic.

Clouet’s demand is therefore aimed primarily at exerting political pressure on the government and the Élysée Palace. On 23 July, a bill to modernize the civil protection model was introduced in the National Assembly. It could provide the framework for discussions on equipment, operational organization and funding. However, additional resources or new procurements have not yet been approved. The bill is only at the beginning of the parliamentary process.