Exhausted and understaffed firefighters: Nunez defends firefighting resources

Following the deaths of two firefighters on Tuesday near Bordeaux-Mérignac airport, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez on Wednesday rejected union criticism of insufficient resources, while representatives of the firefighters warned of increasing staff exhaustion.

Three firefighters killed in two weeks, 44,000 hectares burned since January, more than in all of 2022: the situation is tense, and the unions are furious. Yet, Laurent Nunez has chosen a firm stance. From a fire station in Bordeaux, where he had just met with the families of the two firefighters who died the previous day, the Minister of the Interior insisted that France is "facing" the fires and demanded an end to "these controversies."

“Enough with the ‘France bashing.’ We are a country that also knows how to manage crises. We have demonstrated that,” he declared to the press. Regarding aerial resources, he detailed an arsenal he considers sufficient: 12 Canadair water bombers, 10 water-bombing helicopters, 6 AirTractor aircraft, and 8 Dash aircraft deploying fire retardant, in addition to 27 aircraft belonging to various departmental services. The fleet has “doubled” since 2022, he specified, mentioning new Canadair deliveries planned for 2028 and 2032. In the coming days, an A400M capable of dropping 20,000 liters of retardant will be tested. But the minister himself pointed out that “95% of fires are fought using ground resources”: this is precisely where the problem lies, according to the unions.

Guillaume Millet, from the CFDT union, puts the problem in concrete terms: “When you send a reinforcement column of about fifty men, you would need 100 to respect the required rest periods. But today, we're only managing with 50, so people are exhausted.” Sébastien Delavoux agrees: fatigue generates “loss of lucidity” and exposes the officers to real risks of poisoning.

The operational workload extends far beyond simply fighting fires. Emergency rescue and medical care account for between 74% and 80% of the firefighters' total activity, representing more than four million callouts annually related to medical emergencies and everyday accidents. David Saquet, president of the UNSA Firefighters union, describes firefighters returning from a forest intervention after more than ten hours and being immediately "reassigned" to 24-hour shifts. "That's unacceptable," he asserts.

The situation of volunteer firefighters, who make up 80% of the workforce, is of particular concern to Bruno Ménard, spokesperson for their national union. "We're reaching the breaking point of a system that's going to collapse," he warns. Some volunteers, exhausted, sleep on cots between fire trucks in sheds, before returning to their civilian jobs between calls.

The human toll of the season is heavy. A 22-year-old volunteer firefighter died on July 8 in Savoie. According to the National Federation of Firefighters, six firefighters died in the line of duty in 2025, across all types of interventions, and eight since the beginning of 2026. Laurent Nunez offered the families of the two victims from Gironde the organization of a national tribute, both in Gironde and in all the prefectures and fire stations across the country.