The editorial eye. Editorial. Insufficient human and material resources: a firefighters’ strike to sound the alarm

During this trying summer, little good news came to light up a sky darkened by smoke from the fires. In Gironde, in the Var and everywhere in France, the flames are consuming our common treasure: the forests. Whether criminal or accidental, they are the symptom of climate change, but also the indicator of our negligence. Faulty forest management, lack of maintenance of wastelands, uncontrolled urbanization and uncivil behavior are all fuels for these disasters. Faced with this danger, firefighters are the first line of defense. With courage and technical expertise, they do everything they can to win often unequal battles in the face of uncontrollable megafires. However, their resources are limited, particularly their air strike force, which has suffered from chronic underinvestment for years.

Of the applications to the highest

A situation that cannot continue. Moreover, it will be the epicenter of a national day of strike planned for Thursday, August 13 throughout the country. The nine union organizations of professional firefighters will form a united front that day to demand human and material resources commensurate with the threat. Of course, they will not put down the spears. Like doctors who continue to provide care during social conflicts, they will be ready in the event of intervention. Because their sole objective is to ask those in power to finally respect their promises to renew equipment and strengthen the workforce. In their fight, the firefighters have strong support: the population, who see, summer after summer, the importance of their mission. Moreover, and this is the only improvement in a blocked horizon, it seems that applications to join the ranks of volunteers are at their highest. A clear sign of the gap between the speed of collective awareness and the selective amnesia of decision-makers.