Overview
- A coalition of nine firefighters' unions filed a preavis de grève that runs from 8 September to 20 October to press for mass recruitments, better equipment and formal recognition of occupational diseases.
- Union leaders say crews will continue to answer emergency calls during the action but will use the strike to force talks on staffing levels and supplies.
- Firefighters highlight specific safety gaps, including legacy protective hoods that ‘do not filter,’ and call for better gear and recognition that repeated exposure to toxic particles causes work‑related illnesses.
- Unions also demand pathways to convert volunteer firefighters into professionals after pointing to very low volunteer indemnities of about €4–€8 per hour and growing operational tasks beyond fires.
- Olivier Richefou has urged prompt government action and said a draft law with possible new funding for SDIS will be published on 8 September, a development that will shape negotiations as local budgets struggle to meet rising wildfire and emergency demands.