France wildfire aid: PM announces €12m after jeers

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced about €12 million in aid on August 17 for wildfire-hit areas in southwest France, after residents jeered him over the government’s response.

The money will support recovery in Gironde and Landes, the regions worst hit by fires in late July and early August. Lecornu said €10 million would go to Gironde and €2 million to Landes, and that building permits for equivalent reconstruction of destroyed homes would be issued within a month or sooner.

Earlier, dozens of residents heckled Lecornu as he arrived in Le Porge, a town in Gironde where 183 homes burned down. About 200 people dressed in black gathered outside the town hall, whistling and shouting anti-government slogans as his car arrived for a meeting with the mayor, an AFP correspondent reported.

Some residents criticised Lecornu for not meeting them. His office said he had spoken with affected residents and farmers.

“We have absolutely nothing to hide regarding how fire protection operations have been conducted over the past few weeks,” Lecornu said later as he met local officials in nearby Merignac.

Lecornu also said the aid, available immediately, would let local authorities start projects without delay and build a recovery plan. He warned that he would denounce any insurers who “do not play the game”.

Some residents in the region allege authorities gave priority to fighting fires in the upscale Cap-Ferret peninsula, where many affluent Parisians take holidays, over protecting local homes. Ludivine Daurignac, organiser of a group of affected residents in Le Porge, said the group planned to file complaints and seek “truth, transparency, and justice”.

The fire burned through 42,000 hectares before being brought under control on August 1. AFP reported that it was the largest wildfire in France by surface area since 1949, came within 15 kilometres of the Bordeaux metropolitan area and forced the evacuation of more than 220,000 residents and tourists.