French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faced intense anger on Monday as dozens of residents jeered his arrival in southwestern France, a region devastated by severe wildfires earlier this summer.
Approximately 200 demonstrators dressed in black assembled outside the town hall in Le Porge. The municipality, located in the Gironde département, suffered extensive damage in late July and early August when massive wildfires destroyed 183 homes. As the prime minister's tinted-window vehicle with flashing lights arrived for a scheduled meeting with Le Porge Mayor Martial Zaninetti, the crowd whistled, jeered, and shouted anti-government slogans.
Protesters expressed deep frustration at the government's perceived avoidance of the public, chanting, "Where is he? Where is he?" Tony Veiga, a 65-year-old pensioner in the crowd, remarked that meeting with the local residents was "the least he could do," adding that the lack of direct engagement felt like being treated as if they did not matter. Local resident Ludivine Daurignac, who is organizing a group of affected citizens planning to file complaints to demand "truth, transparency, and justice," criticized the heavy security presence, noting that lines of riot police blocked their access to the prime minister.
The local anger stems from allegations that emergency authorities prioritized saving properties on the upscale Cap-Ferret peninsula—a popular holiday destination for wealthy Parisians—over protecting the homes of local residents. In response to the criticism, Lecornu’s office stated that he had spoken with affected residents and farmers. During a subsequent meeting with local officials in the nearby town of Merignac, Lecornu defended the emergency response, stating that the government has "absolutely nothing to hide" regarding how fire protection operations were managed. The prime minister had also conducted an unannounced, off-camera tour of Le Porge with the mayor on Sunday afternoon.
The wildfire, which was brought under control on August 1st, was the largest in France by surface area since 1949, burning through 42,000 hectares of land. At its peak, the blaze came within 15 kilometers of the Bordeaux metropolitan area, forcing the evacuation of more than 220,000 residents and tourists.
