Guillaume Decard: "Let's end the cycle of emotion–report–oblivion"!
The mayor of Puget-sur-Argens, Guillaume Decard, challenges the State on the follow-up to the Falco report on civil security, one year after its submission.
While wildfires reached their peak this summer, a voice was raised in Var to demand accountability. Guillaume Decard, vice-president of the Département and president of Var Tourisme, questioned the executive on the follow-up given to the Falco report, a strategic document containing 116 recommendations to modernize civil security in France.
A report left without follow-up?
On November 17, 2022, following a summer already marked by fires of unprecedented intensity, the President of the Republic entrusted Hubert Falco, then mayor of Toulon, with an "Interministerial Mission for the Modernization of Civil Security and Protection against Major Risks".
The objective was to conduct a broad consultation and propose concrete measures, with the promise of "rapidly launching trials". The result of this work, a dense report of 116 recommendations, was submitted to the Élysée on June 2, 2023. More than a year later, faced with the recurrence of devastating fires, Guillaume Decard is growing impatient.
"What has the State done with this report"?
"Have the trials promised 'as early as spring' following the report been initiated? Where? With what results?", the elected representative asked.
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For Guillaume Decard, the time for observations and analyses is over. He denounces a pattern that repeats itself after each disaster: a strong public emotion, followed by the commissioning of an expert report, which very often ends up being forgotten.
"I say this with gravity and determination: let us stop the 'emotion–report–oblivion' cycle.
"Let's publish a detailed step-by-step progress report, measure by measure, and set a binding schedule," he insists.
This challenge aims to transform the recommendations into a concrete action plan, with precise deadlines and dedicated resources, to break with wait-and-see attitudes and sustainably strengthen the resilience of territories in the face of intensifying climate and natural risks.
The elected representative also paid tribute to all those fighting on the front line against flames and other disasters. He believes that the best recognition of their commitment comes through strong political acts and no longer just through words of support.
"To those who hold the fire line — firefighters, military personnel, rescue and security forces, mayors and local elected officials, public agents, volunteers, and associations — the State owes more than applause: it owes clear decisions and sustainable resources," concludes Guillaume Decard.
What the Falco report says:
The Falco report advocated an ambitious overhaul of civil security, ranging from developing a citizen risk culture to clarifying responsibilities between SAMU and SDIS, as well as strengthening legal, financial, and material resources, notably through better involvement of insurance companies and modernizing governance at all territorial levels. The elected representative's call sounds like an urgent reminder of the importance of these issues for the safety of all French people.
Article from the print edition of La Gazette du Var