If it exists for the avalanche and subversive wave risk, infradepartmental vigilance does not exist with regard to the flood risk. Which partly explains the various questions during the recent bad weather.
At the end of September, David Lisnard, the mayor of Cannes, had already castigated the services of Météo France and the prefecture on the X network during a heavy rainy episode which particularly affected his town, while the department was on yellow alert. and that this, except in Cannes, was justified.
Rebelote this Friday on his Instagram account where after a night of vigil and much less rain than expected in his town, he is surprised by Météo France’s margins of error and calls for an audit.
We find the same question among many Côte d’Ivoire parents living on the coast who did not understand yesterday’s red alert and the closure of schools.
For Jérôme Lartisant, FO union delegate at Météo France, it is the question of infradepartmental vigilance that must then arise. “Infradepartmental vigilance does not exist for flood risk and it is complicated to implement. Météo France does not currently have the means to make subdepartmental forecasts. But this must be remembered.“to be in place, it is provided for in the objective and performance contract” adds the trade unionist who also recalls the crisis that Météo France has gone through recently.
“We have not returned to the numbers of two years ago”
“We lost 600 jobs in two years between 2018 and 2022. Météo France forecasters went from 1,350 to 600 over this period (1). Today if we have stopped the bleeding – 5 other recruitsutements are planned for 2025 by the finance bill – we are not not returned to the numbers of two years ago.”
As for the south-eastern region, Languedoc-Roussillon-Paca-Corsica, between 2009 and 2023, the workforce fell by 43%: “We went from 273 forecasters to 126. And from 16 centers to 7.”
According to its detailed budget on its site, Météo France also indicates that the subsidies granted to it by the State increased from 195.6 million euros in 2015 to 179.1 million euros in 2022, decreasing by 8.4 % in seven years.
Requested by us, Météo France did not respond.
1. Requested by TF1info, Météo France confirms this number but indicates that its “workforce increased in 2023, with 23 additional positions” and that “2024 will also see an increase of 25 positions”.
