Feux géants : la Sécurité civile manque-t-elle de moyens ? - Le monde de Jamy

Video from the channel Le Monde De Jamy - France Télévisions about Canadair CL-415, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 10:44. Language: French. Video type: Documentary.

Report from the programme "Le monde de Jamy" (France Télévisions) asking whether the French Sécurité civile has sufficient resources to face increasingly extreme wildfires. It covers the winter overhaul of the Canadairs in Nîmes, the difficulty of renewing the fleet, the role of the Dash aircraft loaded with retardant, and the network of pelicandromes.

The piece airs one year after the major Aude fire of August 2025. The fleet of 12 Canadairs includes aircraft more than 30 years old that, according to the manufacturer, have no lifespan limit if properly maintained: during the annual "major overhaul" everything is dismantled and inspected, and what usually remains original is the airframe. The most worn parts are the water intakes and the launch doors. Since there is only one factory, in Canada, and global demand is limited, production was once halted for ten years.

Four new water bombers are expected, which would bring the fleet to 16, but the first two would not arrive before 2028 and, being funded with European funds, will also be made available to the European mutual aid mechanism. Other options are being studied: a 10-tonne-water aircraft versus the Canadair's 6, and an ATR fitted with floats, not before the end of the decade. The Dash aircraft, adapted passenger or cargo planes, carry up to 10 tonnes of water or retardant (clay, phosphates that slow combustion, and red dye), patrol on armed watch with up to three or four aircraft airborne, and reload on the ground in 5 to 6 minutes. In 2026, three new pelicandromes opened, including Rodez and Niort, bringing the total to 27.