Fires: National police appeal for volunteers to bolster operations

Faced with the exceptional scale of the fires affecting several regions of France, the national police have launched an appeal for volunteers from among their ranks to reinforce the forces deployed on the ground. This exceptional mobilization aims to support the services already engaged in securing the affected areas, evacuating populations, and protecting sectors threatened by the flames. 

Volunteer police officers may be assigned to various missions depending on operational needs. They will participate in securing intervention zones, regulating traffic, controlling access to evacuated areas, and supporting emergency services. This mobilization comes as wildfires are already requiring significant human and material resources across several departments. 

Reinforcements to relieve the teams already mobilized

This appeal illustrates the scale of the crisis caused by the forest fires, which require close coordination between police, gendarmes, firefighters, civil security forces, and local authorities. The authorities are seeking to increase available personnel to maintain public safety while facilitating the work of firefighting teams. 

For several weeks, public authorities have been multiplying initiatives to increase intervention capacity in the face of a particularly early and intense fire season. Following appeals to businesses to provide equipment and drivers, as well as to employers to release volunteer firefighters, the mobilization of volunteer police officers is complementing this system designed to respond to a situation deemed exceptional.