In a letter addressed to the head of state, Hermeline Malherbe, socialist president of the departmental council of Pyrénées-Orientales, warns of the historic drought affecting her territory. She evokes “an ecological disaster, economic tomorrow” and warns of a “human catastrophe” as summer approaches. According to her, the Pyrénées-Orientales have not experienced “no major rain (…) for more than a year”. The department had to deal with the first big fire of the year in France in mid-April, when the fire covered around 1,000 hectares.
To deal with this situation, and while the summer could be extremely dry again, Hermeline Malherbe calls for “the establishment of a solidarity fund” to help the agricultural and tourist sectors.
Restrictions on the use of water are already in force in this department known for its important fruit (peaches, nectarines, apricots) and vegetable (artichokes, tomatoes, aubergines, zucchini) production sectors.
Four villages, totaling more than 3,000 people, are even deprived of drinking water and the inhabitants supplied with bottles. The borehole that usually supplies them being at its lowest, a connection was made to another, but the water is not drinkable, according to the first analyzes carried out.
