French President Emmanuel Macron has activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM) to combat devastating wildfires. The system has become increasingly effective, but is expected to reach its limits by the summer of 2026.
France is relatively well-prepared for wildfires, operating 12 Canadair water bombers and eight Dash firefighting aircraft, along with leased aircraft and helicopters. However, the fleet is currently needed simultaneously across many parts of the country.
A weeks-long drought and several heatwaves with temperatures exceeding 40°C (104°F) have left vegetation extremely dry. The devastating wildfire near Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast has already engulfed more than 42,000 hectares of forest and vegetation.
Fires and follow-up extinguishing efforts in southern and southeastern France are tying up additional emergency personnel. Strong winds are fanning the flames, making them nearly unstoppable, and more than 220,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and vacation properties.
The gravity of the situation is underscored by the French government's first-time deployment of an A400M military transport aircraft equipped for aerial firefighting. The A400M can drop around 20 metric tons of fire retardant, more than three times the capacity of a Canadair.
Under the CPM, firefighting aircraft and helicopters from Portugal, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Turkey, Sweden, and Slovakia are supporting France, primarily in the Bordeaux area. Simultaneously, six additional aircraft from Greece, Turkey, and Italy were dispatched to Spain.
According to the European Commission, current resources are likely insufficient to keep pace with the scale of the fires. The European air reserve consists of nationally operated aircraft committed for a specific period, and the EU is establishing a rescEU fleet of 12 new firefighting aircraft at a cost of approximately €600 million.
The mechanism's solidarity principle reaches its limits when multiple countries are simultaneously affected by extreme weather events. Italy is currently battling wildfires within its own borders, though it has not yet activated the mechanism. The European Commission expects an unusually long wildfire season this year, with the mechanism possibly in effect from late April to early November.
Source: www.dw.com