The European Union has allocated four water bombers to fight fires

While forest fires are raging, in particular, in the south-west of the country, four aircraft from the European Union (EU) based in Greece and Sweden have been provided to France to extinguish the fires, the European Commission said on Thursday, August 11. Several Italian Canadians are also on the way, Emmanuel Macron said in a tweet.

In addition, teams of firefighters from Germany, Poland, Austria and Romania are being mobilized to support French firefighters under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism at the request of the French authorities. «The EU stands in full solidarity when a country faces an emergency situation», – said European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic.

«European solidarity in action!» – French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed, for his part, in a tweet announcing this European aid.

Greece will send two Canadair planes, and Sweden will send two Air Tractor planes within one day, representatives of the French presidency said. According to her, Germany is sending 64 firefighters and 24 vehicles on land, which is expected from Thursday evening. Polish reinforcements – 146 firefighters and 49 vehicles – will arrive on Friday at noon.

The Commission also clarified that the EU Copernicus satellite was activated by Paris to collect the necessary data for rapid response services in the scorched territories.

Thousands of firefighters are currently fighting in France with new fires in forests that have completely dried up due to the abnormal heat and the historical lack of rain. On Wednesday evening, eight large fires were raging in France: in the Gironde (southwest), in the states of Maine and Loire (west), Jura (east), Drome, Aveyron and Lozer (southeast), not to mention countless small fires that start every day from north to south of the country.