Farmers’ Union Demands More Funds After Wildfires: Protect Farms, Prevent Fires

Paris – 08.07.2026: The French farmers’ union Confédération paysanne issued a communiqué on Wednesday calling for additional state funds to better protect agricultural operations against fires and to expand prevention. The trigger were several forest and scrubland fires in recent days that have tied up thousands of emergency personnel and led regionally to evacuations and road closures. The union warns that many farms face existential risks without targeted protective infrastructure.

At the core of the demands are rapid emergency aid for affected farms, unbureaucratic payments and an expansion of prevention work: more controlled burn-area maintenance, supported pruning and clearing of scrub, the creation of access routes for firefighting vehicles as well as reliable firefighting water supplies on fields and in forests. The union also advocates clear priorities in operational plans so that barns, machinery and harvests are not treated as secondary during large-scale fires.

According to local authorities, large-scale firefighting and reconnaissance operations are underway in several departments. Prefectures are imposing targeted restrictions on fieldwork when strong winds, drought and high temperatures coincide. The government announced in early July closer coordination between civil protection, forestry authorities and agriculture, and points to additional air and ground units for firefighting. Concrete decisions on new funding lines for farms were still pending in the evening.

Farmers report practical gaps that are particularly costly during the heat period: missing hydrants at field edges, makeshift access roads that slow down heavy water tankers, and too few reserves to build firebreaks or resilient storage structures at short notice. Insurance matters are seen as another weak point, because policies can become more expensive with repeated extreme weather events or may include exclusions.

Experts note that persistent drought and heatwaves increase the risk of wildfires and that such situations are becoming more frequent in the summer months. Besides immediate equipment and personnel, they recommend longer-term adjustments: systematic landscape management, rewetting suitable areas, designating fire-protected zones around farms, and standardized access and water plans that incident commanders can use immediately in an emergency. For agricultural businesses it is crucial that prevention is understood and financed as part of basic agricultural infrastructure.

Confédération paysanne announced it will intensify talks with ministries at national and regional levels and support local initiatives in planning and financing. Pressure is growing to implement concrete measures effectively during the current summer to avoid losses in livestock, harvests and production inputs.