The Minister for the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, is due to visit Libourne this Wednesday. He will preside over the opening of the new gendarmerie barracks and officially announce the establishment of France’s fourth civil protection base.
Several towns in Nouvelle-Aquitaine had been in the running since Emmanuel Macron’s announcement in October 2022 that a new UIISC (Civil Protection Training and Response Unit) was to be established in France. The cities in the running were Mont-de-Marsan, Pau, Angoulême, Agen, Limoges and Libourne. After many months of discussions and negotiations, the Gironde has been chosen to host this new unit. The Home Secretary, Gérald Darmanin, will formalise his decision to establish the fourth UIISC in Libourne on Wednesday 2 August. This unit will thus join the three others already in place at Nogent-le-Rotrou in Eure-et-Loir, Corte in Corsica and Brignoles in the Var.
A former gendarmerie barracks as a new base
The civil protection unit will be based in the buildings of the former NCO training school (ESOG) as well as in the Lamarque and Proteau barracks, which have stood derelict since 2009 and have been awaiting redevelopment following an earlier ministerial decision. This project involves the redevelopment and refurbishment of eleven and a half hectares of land. From summer 2024, around 565 rescue workers, along with their families and administrative staff, are expected to begin moving into these premises.
These firefighters, who have military status, are distinct from the departmental fire and rescue service, although their initial training is the same. Their main role will be to bolster municipal, departmental or national emergency response capabilities in areas at risk from forest fires, floods and earthquakes, as well as from technological, radioactive or bacteriological hazards. Their expertise will be called upon to respond to complex emergency situations and help protect the population in high-risk areas.