Patrick Davet judges on Tuesday on franceinfo that the firefighting system presented by the government is “up to” expectations. For his part, the president of the Gironde Departmental Council is also delighted with these announcements, even if some will not be effective for two years.
“Tonight, I’m relieved”declared Tuesday April 11 on franceinfo Patrick Davet, mayor of La Teste-de-Buch (Gironde), after the announcements made by Gérald Darmanin on the move, with three other ministers, on the air base of Cazaux to present the 2023 system of Fight against fires. “Certainly, I don’t want there to be fires but I tell myself that today we are prepared, informed and with the means so I am really relieved this evening”, he repeated. The mayor believes that the government announcements are up to expectations: “I am going to speak on behalf of my town which has been badly affected (more than 6,000 hectares burned) today it meets expectations. It also meets the commitments that the President of the Republic had made on October 28 at the Elysée “.
According to Patrick Davet, the announcements are therefore “at the height”. He explains : “These are quite significant figures that have been announced as well as human and material resources and more particularly the possibility, within 48 hours, of having two planes based near our home in the event of a fire risk”. For him, it was impossible not to have strong announcements: “This visit had been announced for the first time, then it had been postponed. There, they came to four ministers so I did not imagine for a single moment that they would come ’empty-handed'”.
“We are all on the alert”
“Resources, anticipation, that’s what we expected for the summer which still promises to be difficult for us when we see the state of drought in which our massif is currently.” More specifically, Patrick Davet was expecting air resources: “During the fire we had the human resources but we ran out of air resources at a moment when there were several fires simultaneously in France. So that was what was expected in addition to the human and financial resources announced”.
“The wounds are closing a little but not completely. Today, the wounds are somewhat reopening because the drought is there and the risk is approaching”.
Patrick Davet, Mayor of La Teste-de-Buchon franceinfo
Regarding the approaching summer of 2023, the elected official details what he is trying to put in place to prepare his inhabitants: “In my town I warn the population a lot. I organized a public meeting on the OLDs: the legal obligations of clearing […] And above all, I call for caution. It is necessary all the same that everyone today is aware of what happened and makes a little figure of responsibility. (…) We are all on the alert”.
40 additional trucks for Gironde firefighters
“We were expecting air resources [et les annonces du ministre] have been a concrete response in an emergency to prepare for this summer season”, declares for his part, Tuesday on franceinfo, Jean-Luc Gleyze, president (PS) of the Departmental Council of the Gironde, who says he is satisfied: “The elements on the air resources really correspond to what we could expect. It is also envisaged that a Canadair maintenance base could be established in the southwest and that too is good news”.
Regarding the human and financial resources announced, the president of the Gironde Departmental Council again believes that what has been said is up to par: “On the forecasts in terms of material resources, today we have the announcement of being able to finance 40 new trucks to reinforce the means of Sdis de la Gironde”. He adds : “We can buy drones that we use in particular for tracking at night and video surveillance cameras that will be needed”. Finally, he also returns to the measure announced by Gérald Darmanin to “double compensation for employers who release volunteer firefighters”. For the socialist, this will allow “to have more resources and therefore it is also essential”.
“The air resources that will be assigned to us in the department will be operational for the summer. On the other hand, the civil security unit which has been announced will probably only intervene in the next one or two years, just like the base of Canadair.”
Jean-Luc Gleyze, President (PS) of the Gironde Departmental Councilon franceinfo
However, Jean-Luc Gleyze is aware that everything that has been announced will not be operational for the summer of 2023, but “we can very quickly have these aerial means which for us was the first priority. (…) 23% of our truck fleet is still in a repair situation”explains the socialist who hopes that they will be “all repaired by the end of April”. At this moment “we will be ready to face the fires to come if there were any, wishing that there were not”. As for prevention, “it is essential especially for tourists”.