French PM met with boos in town devastated by wildfires

Residents of Le Porge in south-western France greeted Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu with boos and angry chants during his visit to the commune, where more than 180 homes were destroyed in the country’s largest wildfire in modern history.

“Thank you, Mr Prime Minister!” and “Bravo, you pathetic man!” residents shouted as the prime minister’s convoy passed through the commune, according to footage broadcast by BFMTV.

Many residents had dressed in black and initially planned to remain silent to underline the seriousness of the situation. But some became angry after Lecornu did not stop to speak with them and instead went directly to a meeting with local officials.

Frustration was also fuelled by reports that Lecornu had arrived in the commune a day earlier, on August 16, despite official announcements indicating that his visit was scheduled for Monday. He was reportedly seen near a local beach with the mayor. BFMTV, citing the prime minister’s entourage, said the earlier visit was intended to allow him to prepare for the official meetings.

“We were not expecting anything special anyway, but now we really expect nothing. We are very disappointed. We only had questions, which will once again remain unanswered. We were not treated with respect, and we still are not,” Olivier, one of the protesters, told BFMTV.

More than 119,000 hectares have been destroyed by fires across France since the beginning of the year.

The largest blaze was recorded in the Gironde department, where more than 42,000 hectares were affected and 240 homes were destroyed. Of those, 183 were in Le Porge, making it one of the areas worst affected by the disaster.

By Aghakazim Guliyev