President Emmanuel Macron will bring together on October 14 at the Elysee Palace all the actors of Civil Security to reflect on a new model of firefighting prevention, announced Saturday Gérald Darmanin.
The Head of State had expressed this wish to bring together the actors concerned in August when the country experienced significant and repeated fires.
During the summer, up to 10,000 firefighters a day were mobilized by the fires which ravaged nearly 63,000 hectares of forest, from the Gironde to the Jura via Finistère and Maine-et-Loire.
Coming to close the 128th national congress of firefighters in Nancy, the Minister of the Interior specified that the government was preparing, with the aim of this meeting at the Elysée, a plan for the modernization of civil security.
“The President of the Republic will receive on October 14 all the actors of Civil Security. He will have the opportunity to come back to the subject of global warming and the means we give to put out the fires, ”said Mr. Darmanin during a micro-tense at the end of his speech.
“Reform to better anticipate”
He once again mentioned his desire to ensure that volunteer firefighters can be mobilized more easily on interventions.
Gérald Darmanin repeated thinking about ways to force employers of volunteer firefighters to let them go to fight major fires. “Companies must be encouraged to release volunteer firefighters when they are working at home. There is a statute for elected officials. There must be a status for volunteer firefighters, ”he said, indicating that he would propose this to parliament following debates with Emmanuel Macron.
The Minister also proposed to submit to Parliament on November 1 the report on the financing of fire and rescue services, which he will share with professionals before the meeting with the President. “We are going to increase the air fleet very significantly,” recalled Mr. Darmanin, while firefighters and departmental elected officials are demanding more air resources. “Reform to better anticipate”, summed up Gérald Darmanin.