French firefighters threaten to strike over lack of resources

In the midst of a summer marked by heatwaves and deadly fires, a coalition of unions representing France's fire and rescue services met with Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez for nearly two hours on Thursday afternoon.

They presented three main demands: more funding to cope with a surge in emergency calls, mass recruitment of professional firefighters and new legislation to modernise civil protection services.

"The minister failed to deliver; we received no concrete answer. We have no assurances regarding funding, the funding strategy or the content of the legislation," commented union spokesperson Xavier Boy.

He said resources allocated to firefighting had not kept pace with a rising number of interventions and multiplying crises.

Deadly summer

The unions have called for "intensive mobilisation" on 29 September, when public sector workers are also planning to go on strike.

Professional firefighters are also planning to protest for three days beforehand at the Place de la République in Paris, David Saquet of the Unsa firefighters' union told French news agency AFP.

Firefighters say they are exhausted after what has been one of France's worst wildfire seasons in history, with at least 120,000 hectares burnt since the beginning of the summer, according to provisional estimates.

The summer has also been deadly, with four firefighters losing their lives. Smoke and flames rise in the village of Le Porge as a wildfire burns amid worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France, 22 July 2026.

Wildfire sees 12,000 residents and tourists evacuated in south-west France

Over 400 people – including 156 minors – have so far been arrested in connection with the blazes, which are fought by the most part by volunteer firefighters.

Of the 256,400 firefighters listed by the French Interior Ministry, only 44,000 – around 17 percent – are either professionals or military personnel. 

In recent weeks, applications to become volunteer firefighters have doubled, or even tripled, in some departments.

Fire service representatives say they have received as many requests from people wanting to sign up in a few weeks as they did over the last six months, boosted by a wave of public gratitude.

'Heading for disaster'

Unions say they want more than just recognition.
"We don't want to be called heroes; we want to be given the resources," Ludovic Goblet, vice-president of Spasdis-CFTC union, told AFP prior to Thursday's meeting, calling on the government to hire an extra 21,000 professional firefighters.

"This summer's wildfires, which were exceptional in scale but are set to become the norm, have shown that we are heading for disaster."

Nuñez said on Thursday that a long-awaited bill to reform the country's civil protection services would be presented on 8 September.

Launched in mid-2024, it set out to modernise a system deemed to be at breaking point – with additional funding attached – but has since stalled.

France's Fontainebleau forest faces long recovery after wildfires

The interior minister welcomed the "very frank discussions" with unions on Thursday.

He said September's proposal would "better define the missions" of French firefighters, who "currently must respond to personal medical emergencies just as often as to disasters or fires".

In a statement published on social media platform X, Nuñez added that discussions were underway on funding for the fire service, with extra resources expected to be allocated in the 2027 budget. 

(with AFP)