The Prime Minister and part of the government are going to Gironde on Monday August 17. La Porge suffered the brunt of the destruction caused by the Gironde megafire, which started from Saumos on July 22, which covered 42,000 hectares and led to the evacuation of more than 220,000 people.
Of the 240 houses in the village, 183 were destroyed. Half of the municipal forest went up in smoke and the tourist season was largely canceled. Sébastien Lecornu is therefore coming to Gironde to “launch the reconstruction”, but does not plan to meet the inhabitants. Only an off-camera interview with the mayor of Porge is planned, before a round table with "elected officials and socio-economic actors in reconstruction", in the Bordeaux suburbs.
At Porge, anger and emotion are still very strong, especially among Alexy. He is a tenant on the long avenue of Arcachon Bay, which we have seen so much on television and in photos. From the government, he expects “nothing at all”. “They have their eyes to see, we don’t need to add a word. It’s already too much, what happened,” he says.
Alexy looked for other accommodation on his own, for his wife, his 8-month-old granddaughter and him. They sign to settle in Andernos. “The time it takes to rebuild an entire avenue will be very, very long,” he estimates. “As someone who works at Teich, for example, I have to pass along Avenue du Bassin and I don’t see myself passing through an avenue where everything is burned every day. It will bring back too many memories.”
“If it means being in pain for three years of reconstruction, it’s not worth it.”
An expert must also visit what remains of his home. Amidst the rubble, Alexy explains: "I was just trying to find the carcass of objects. I thought there would be the vacuum cleaner in the shed, but in fact, it is there." He also points to the remains of two washing machines and whispers: “It’s crazy.”
For furniture and household appliances, it should be fine. But the memories of his grandmother, which he kept in a trunk, seem difficult to estimate. “There are crystal glasses that have been completely deformed by the heat that must have emanated from the trunk. It’s an entire heritage that is going up in smoke. My grandmother, that was my entire childhood,” Alexy saddens. And that’s just for his part of the big house he lived in. Its owner lost everything.
The government visit comes two weeks after residents returned home. After the stress of the evacuation and the shock of returning, some residents are experiencing the repercussions. When they agree to testify at the franceinfo microphone, many have tears in their eyes and a tight throat. Since August 3 and the return to Porge, residents have been able to go to the town's school where a reception center has been set up. “Most of the victims we receive need psychological support,” observes Dominique, a Red Cross volunteer and sector head of the Porge reception center for those involved.
The fire destroyed 183 houses, but its impact on people's minds was much broader. The center has already registered 850 people, including Bernard, 75, who has just left. “I broke down today,” admits the Porgeais. “The tears flowed. It’s hard.” Despite everything, he praises the work of the reception center: "It's fantastic, what's happening. The devotion of the people, the honesty, the loyalty... I met an impeccable social worker. I wasn't ready, but that's it, I am."
He has just been relocated to the Porge municipal campsite, a little further away, by the beach and the ocean. A stage managed by the municipality's social worker, Coralie Mathias. “We see it physically. People collapse and then they are terrified of the future,” she relates. She helps, while being traumatized herself. “I am the first to have not yet toured the Porge,” admits the social worker. “There are plenty of streets that I have not done and that I am not ready to do today, as a resident of the Porge.”
All the people met by franceinfo agree on the usefulness of the center. The latest news was that it was scheduled to remain open until Tuesday, August 18. But then? What will happen when children return to school? At the Porge, many questions remain unanswered.
This is why the people of Porge are asking the government and the town hall to simplify the procedures for reconstruction, in order to speed up the process. This is, for example, a complaint from Céline. She has just collected something to eat and feed her dogs, in the old indoor tennis court, converted into a donation center. She lived behind the supermarket. In her house, “only the walls remain”. And before starting the reconstruction, Céline did not expect it but she was asked for "a demolition permit", supporting photos.
Some residents are wondering: will they have to pay for their new building permit? Will we be able to rebuild in the same place, exactly the same? So many questions that worry Sandra. “Everyone tells me that I wouldn't have the same house as what I have. I had a big house, because I have five children, a big piece of land,” she explains.
