Fires in Gironde: an A400M military transport plane deployed from Saturday to reinforce the fight against the flames

Faced with the scale of the fires ravaging the Gironde and part of the Landes, the government has decided to accelerate the deployment of an A400M military transport aircraft. At the request of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, the aircraft will be deployed as early as this Saturday to reinforce the aerial resources mobilized against the fires, Matignon announced.

The A400M will be equipped with a drop kit developed by Airbus, installed in its cargo hold. This experimental system will allow it to release up to 20 tons of fire retardant per rotation, a capacity equivalent to that of two Dash aircraft used by the French Civil Security service. Initially, this first operational mission was not scheduled until the end of July, to allow time for the completion of final technical tests.

A decision made amidst controversy

The announcement comes after several days of criticism from the opposition regarding the commissioning schedule for this equipment. Jean-Luc Mélenchon had denounced on social media the delay taken by the executive, believing that the use of the A400M could have been anticipated to respond to the intensity of the fires.

Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon countered that integrating the firefighting kit required extensive testing before any operational use. She reiterated that while tests had indeed been carried out in France and Spain, the system was not yet officially in service.

Increased resources in response to an exceptional situation

The National Rally has also taken up the issue. Its president, Jordan Bardella, has demanded explanations regarding the deployment delays of the A400M and the resources allocated to Civil Security to deal with large-scale fires.

The government, for its part, advocates a gradual increase in air capabilities. The deployment of the A400M should allow for the evaluation of this new system's performance under real-world conditions, while fires fueled by drought and high temperatures continue to require significant human and material resources in southwestern France.