Deadly Wildfire in France Exposes Failure to Protect Communities and Environment

As flames consume more than 11,000 hectares in southern France, the tragic cost is stark: one woman dead, another missing, several injured—including emergency responders—and hundreds displaced. This fire, now the largest blaze of the year in France centered around the Corbières massif near Narbona, reveals not only a natural disaster but also the failures of preparedness in regions vulnerable to increasing climate threats.The victim’s death inside her home at Saint Laurent de la Cabrerisse underscores how quickly wildfires can turn fatal when response infrastructure and preventive planning fall short. Seven firefighters have suffered injuries battling this inferno that tore through...