(6 Aug 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++QUALITY AS INCOMING++
ASSOCIATED PRESS VIA AGENCY POOL (AFPTV)
Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, France – 6 August 2025
1. Various of French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou shaking hands with firefighters
2. SOUNDBITE (French) Francois Bayrou, French prime minister:
"It was very important for us to be there because this disaster is a disaster of unprecedented proportions. It was very important because hundreds, thousands of people feel that what is most precious to them has been affected: their possessions, their homes, their lives. For those who work in tourism, the landscape has been affected. And so, after almost 24 hours of fighting by all the firefighters and the elected officials who are there and who haven’t slept a wink of sleep, it was very important that we be with them."
3. Bayrou and Retailleau talking to people
4. SOUNDBITE (French) Bruno Retailleau, French Interior Minister:
"The resources are massive. As the Prime Minister said, we have 2,500 firefighters with 600 vehicles (deployed). We have aerial resources, which is almost unprecedented, and we will be mobilizing military resources tomorrow with three helicopters and several dozen soldiers. So the resources are there. But it’s not enough when you have a fire with circumstances of very low humidity, very high temperatures, and also very, very strong winds, with pine forests that sometimes die with the drought."
5. Bayrou shaking hands with firefighters
STORYLINE:
French Prime Minister François Bayrou deplored on Wednesday that the country’s biggest wildfires this summer are a “disaster on an unprecedented scale”.
The fire, which had burned an area larger than Paris, continued to spread quickly Wednesday in a Mediterranean region near the Spanish border after leaving one person dead, authorities said.
Over 2,100 firefighters and several water bomber aircraft battled the blaze that broke out Tuesday afternoon in the village of Ribaute in the Aude region, a rural, wooded area that is home to wineries.
The fire, which has burned 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres), remained “very active” on Wednesday, the local administration said in a statement.
The weather was hot, dry and windy, making it difficult for firefighters to contain the blaze.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the military will reinforce efforts starting from Thursday, with several dozen soldiers to be deployed.
One person died in their home, and at least 13 others were injured, including 11 firefighters, local authorities said.
The prime minister met Wednesday afternoon with firefighters and residents at Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, where the fire service’s command post has been set up.
He said he came to express “national solidarity.”
The area’s economy is relying on winery and tourism and “both sectors are affected,” he stressed.
Bayrou said an investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.
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