French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu heads to Gironde for wildfire reconstruction

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu travelled to the Gironde department in southwestern France after a massive wildfire that scorched more than 42,000 hectares, destroyed about 240 homes and forced the evacuation of roughly 220,000 residents. The blaze, the worst in the region since 1949, left dozens of firefighters injured and halted work for an estimated 130,000 people.

Lecornu was accompanied by ministers Serge Papin (small‑business, tourism), Mathieu Lefèvre (environment and reforestation), Vincent Jeanbrun (housing), Françoise Gatel (local authorities), Annie Genevard (agriculture and forests) and interior minister Laurent Nuñez. The delegation will hold a round‑table with local officials and socio‑economic actors to discuss urgent issues such as tourism, agriculture, housing reconstruction, forest replanting and civil‑security measures. An initial aid package of €300,000 was announced for the most pressing works in Gironde, which also hosts key defence and aerospace industries.