French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has rejected accusations that firefighters were diverted to protect the Cap-Ferret peninsula at the expense of Le Porge, a village where nearly 200 homes burned in the Gironde wildfires.
Lecornu told the Tribune Dimanche on Saturday that the claims were false, and said the pain of residents was being exploited by conspiracy theorists on social media. He added that firefighters make decisions based on a single criterion: saving human lives.
The prime minister also said the fires were broadly under control across France, though the situation remained fluid.
Criminal complaint planned
Le Porge accounts for 183 of the 240 homes destroyed by the Gironde fire, representing roughly three quarters of all residential losses. A residents’ collective with more than 700 members has announced plans to file a criminal complaint to establish a chain of responsibility.
Lawyer Sylvain Galinat, retained by the collective, said he would build the case around a logic of endangerment, aiming at collective rather than individual liability.
