For several days, the flames have been ravaging the Gironde. And this Monday, July 18, it is the Dune du Pilat that bears the brunt. More than 32,000 people were evacuated, nearly 17,000 hectares of forest went up in smoke, as did the few campsites that were in the area. Co-owner of one of the five campsites affected by the La Teste-de-Buch fire, Mathieu Valbuena spoke about the situation in the columns of the Parisian. “It’s a great sadness. I have owned this business since 2013 with a partner (…) I find it very difficult to realize that there is nothing left today. I could never have imagined it would go that far. It’s a classified site, which crosses borders with many French and foreigners who came to camp or simply see the Dune du Pilat. It hurts…”, explained the former French international.
“These are terrible images and it is very sad to see these hectares and hectares of forest go up in smoke. This Monday day was dreaded with the heat and strong gusts of wind which did not help. It is difficult in these conditions to stop these fires of La Teste and Landiras, but the main thing obviously remains that everyone is safe”he continued, very affected.
The footballer who currently plays in Greece for Olympiakos added: “It’s hard to look at these images (…) It hurts the heart and it’s complicated to see the future in pink. The most important thing is to be able to control the flames, that the fire does not do too much damage even if the conditions are not favourable. Few people imagined such a situation…” Although sounded, Mathieu Valbuena concluded on a note of hope. “Time will allow us to rebuild”.
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Adam Javal-Fauconnier