Macron praises solidarity action for flood victims

President Emmanuel Macron has posted a message on Facebook to offer solidarity and support to the victims of floods that caused huge damage across the country last week due to Storm Alex.

“To the French men and women affected by the exceptionally bad weather, to the inhabitants of the disaster-stricken departments of the Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Morbihan, Finistère, I wish to express the nation's solidarity,” he wrote.

“To all of you, volunteers, who work alongside our firefighters, police and all the rescue forces providing shelter, clothing, a meal or simply comfort: thank you!

“Your support is very precious. You are the pride and honour of France,” he added.

He also stated that he would be visiting affected villages in the Alpes-Maritimes department this afternoon, along with Prime Minister Jean Castex. The two will then head to Nice, the department’s main city.

He is expected to declare a state of natural disaster in the worst-affected communes in the department.

Torrential floods hit three valleys north of Nice on Friday and Saturday last week. Four people have died, eight are known to be missing and a further 13 are thought to be missing. Around 39 houses were washed away in the village of Saint-Martin-Vésubie alone.

There are many different cleanup and support groups looking for help and donations.

The Alpes-Maritimes prefecture has set up a service to collect donations and are asking for hygiene products, non-perishable foods and bottles of water, among other things.

Accommodation rental company Airbnb announced that many of its hosts with properties in the Alpes-Maritimes department were offering free accommodation to victims of the floods.

“We are seeing fantastic mobilisation on behalf of the Airbnb community in Nice and Cannes to help those in need,” the company wrote in an email sent to users living in the area.

A woman working for the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture’s flood support department confirmed that many people had been offering bedrooms or flats in the area, but could not say how many.

A town in Occitanie that was devastated by floods in 2018 is also raising money to give to flood victims.

“In Trèbes and in the villages that were victims of the disaster two years ago, we probably know more than anywhere else the suffering, fear and distress of those who...were hit hard by the unstoppable floods,” the mairie wrote in a message posted on Facebook.

“We also know how important national solidarity is at such times to support the victims,” the statement read.

In the 2018 floods that hit departments around Carcassonne, most notably Aube where Trèbes is, 15 people died and around 99 were injured.

More information on the town’s collection can be found here.

Read more about the floods:

Natural disaster to be declared after south of France floods

Storm Alex: French village resident tells of devastation

Storm Alex: More dead and missing in France as impact grows