đź“· Photo: Gabrielrbt via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
President Dr Patrick Herminie has sent a formal message of solidarity and condolence to President Emmanuel Macron of France as devastating wildfires continue to ravage several regions of France, including Gironde, the Landes, the Var, the Hautes-Alpes, and Haute-Corse.
In his message, issued on Tuesday 29 July 2026 from State House and published on the official State House messages page, President Herminie said Seychelles was profoundly saddened by the news of the fires causing immense human suffering, severe material and environmental destruction, and loss of life. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora separately issued a French-language communiqué confirming the message.
Addressing President Macron directly, the Seychellois head of state wrote: “In these grave and tragic hours that nature imposes on the inhabitants of France, I address to you, and through you to the government, to the French people, and to all those touched directly or indirectly by these fires, on behalf of the Seychellois people and government and in my personal name, my sincere condolences accompanied by my deep feelings of solidarity and compassion.”
President Herminie also paid tribute to the firefighters battling the blazes, saying he saluted the colossal efforts deployed by the French government to bring the fires under control and the sense of duty and professionalism being shown by the country’s fire service. He expressed the wish that France would overcome the terrible ordeal quickly.
The fires, which French President Macron has described as unprecedented, are concentrated in the southwest of France, with Gironde described as the worst-hit department. In a post on X on 25 July 2026, President Macron thanked firefighters, military personnel, civil security forces, gendarmes, police officers, farmers and entrepreneurs, and confirmed the activation of the European Union civil protection mechanism, with two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor firefighting planes and two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia deployed. Independent coverage by The Hans India on 25 July 2026 and Le Monde on 28 July 2026 confirmed the deployment of these European reinforcements and Macron’s visit to the Arcachon Basin and Bordeaux metropolitan area on Monday to meet those mobilised against the blazes, after chairing an interministerial crisis unit and a cabinet meeting largely devoted to the fires.
Seychelles’ solidarity with France comes at a moment of intensifying bilateral ties between Victoria and Paris. Last week, President Herminie attended France’s National Day reception in La Réunion as guest of honour at the invitation of President Macron, marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between Seychelles and France. The two leaders used the occasion to reaffirm the friendship between their nations, as confirmed in earlier statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora.
President Herminie’s message also referenced Seychelles’ own familiarity with natural disasters as a small island developing state, and his wish that France would emerge from the fires with renewed resolve.
Sources cited: State House Seychelles, Le Président Herminie adresse un message de solidarité au Président Macron face aux incendies en France, 29 July 2026 (https://www.statehouse.gov.sc/messages/7154/le-president-herminie-adresse-un-message-de-solidarite-au-president-macron-face-aux-incendies-en-france-); Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora (Seychelles), Communiqué de Presse – Le Président Herminie adresse un message de solidarité au Président Macron face aux incendies en France, 28 July 2026 (https://mfa.gov.sc/news/communique-de-presse-le-president-herminie-adresse-un-message-de-solidarite-au-president-macron-face-aux-incendies-en-france/); President Emmanuel Macron, X post, 25 July 2026 (https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/2080421021006405681); The Hans India, Macron thanks firefighters and security forces for efforts amid wildfires, 25 July 2026 (https://www.thehansindia.com/news/international/macron-thanks-firefighters-and-security-forces-for-efforts-amid-wildfires-1101514); Le Monde, Macron, in Bordeaux, calls for unity to win the battle against wildfire, 28 July 2026 (https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2026/07/28/macron-in-bordeaux-calls-for-unity-to-win-the-battle-against-wildfire67559125.html).
