Background information

Following the forest fires that hit south-west France and Brittany in the summer of 2022, Operation Héphaïstos, the name given to the armed forces' involvement in the fight against forest fires, was extended to cover the whole of mainland France in the summer of 2023. Previously, since 1984, it had covered "only" around twenty départements, all of them in southern France. This redeployment of military personnel across the country is accompanied by the creation of a fourth unit, which will have 565 rescue engineers by 2027.

Content of measure

The Civil Protection Military Training Corps (ForMiSC), which belong to the Engineering Corps (like the Paris Fire Brigade), have been available to the Ministry of the Interior since 1988, under the broad umbrella of the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Crisis Management (DGSCGC), under the name of the "HÉPHAÏSTOS protocol". There are 1,408 ForMiSC military experts, known as sapeurs-sauveteurs. Their missions are far from limited to fighting forest fires. Specialised and autonomous, their detachments are capable of intervening in all natural or technological disasters, in times of peace, crisis or war, both in France and abroad.

ForMiSC currently comprises three Civil Protection Training and Intervention Units (UIISC):

• UIISC 1, created in 1978 and based at Nogent-le-Rotrou (Eure-et-Loir)
• UIISC 5, created in 1988 and based in Corte (Haute-Corse)
• UIISC 7, the oldest, created in 1974 and based in Brignoles (Var).

In October 2022, the French President announced the creation of a 4th UIISC to deal with the increasing number and intensity of climatic and natural events. Based in Libourne (Gironde), it will come into operation in 2024 and by 2027 should have 565 rescue engineers.

Following the major forest fires that occurred in the summer of 2022, the HÉPHAÏSTOS protocol was revised in the spring of 2023, with the following main changes:

• The geographical extension of the intervention zone to the whole of mainland France, with a particular focus on the south of France;
• Extending the period covered by the operation.

The operation will cover a theoretical period from 1 July to 30 September 2023 and will cover the whole of mainland France, with a significant focus on the south and southwest.

Use of measure

In the summer of 2024, the HÉPHAÏSTOS protocol was activated in response to 2,720 fires. The operation involved 150 military personnel, three helicopters, and around 50 vehicles. Between June and September of the following year, 200 military personnel, three helicopters, and 60 vehicles were deployed.

The 4th UIISC was set up in Libourne in 2024. 160 personnel have arrived in stages. By 2027, the total force is expected to comprise 580 personnel and 250 vehicles. Additionally, since July 2024, adapted surveillance modules were deployed in Corsica as part of the HÉPHAÏSTOS operation to stop fires from starting.

To battle against forest fires, several forces are mobilized: Civil Security Training and Intervention Units, soldiers from the Air Force Fire Brigade, the Paris Fire Brigade, the Marseille Marine Fire Brigade and the French Army light's aviation. The 2025 forest fire fighting system includes land resources including nearly 400 military personnel assigned to civil protection.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

No involvement (no trade union in the Army).

Views and reactions

No information.

Sectors and occupations

Sources

• 15 June 2023: Ministère des Armées, Opération Héphaïstos, Press kit (www.defense.gouv.fr)
• 03 November 2023: Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN), événements climatiques extrêmes : les militaires de la sécurité civile en première ligne (ihedn.fr)
• 12 January 2024: La 4e Unité d’instruction et d’intervention de la sécurité civile (UIISC) commencera à s’implanter à Libourne dès 2024 (www.gironde.gouv.fr)
• 25 July 2024: Opération HEPHAÏSTOS : engagement des modules adaptés de surveillance (www.defense.gouv.fr)
• 02 August 2024: Héphaïstos : l’armée de Terre lutte contre les feux de forêt (www.defense.gouv.fr)
• 02 October 2024: Bilan de l’opération Héphaïstos 2024 (www.defense.gouv.fr)
• 24 June 2025: Feux de forêt : la lutte contre les incendies en sept questions (www.vie-publique.fr)
• 20 November 2025: Lutte contre les feux de forêts (www.defense.gouv.fr)