Wildfires and Heat in France: Minister Says No Secrets Over Fire Response
Listen to the story
There are big wildfires and a heatwave in France.
The fires are burning in a place called Gironde.
Sébastien Lecornu is the French Prime Minister.
He went to Gironde to see the fires.
He said the government has nothing to hide.
He said, "We have strictly nothing to hide."
This means the government is honest about the fires.
People want to know how the government works on the fires.
After the big fire, less tourists came to Gironde.
Tourist numbers went down by half since the end of July.
This is bad news for local businesses.
Many people work in tourism in Gironde.
The heatwave makes the fires worse.
Hot weather and dry land help fires start.
Firefighters are working hard to stop the fires.
Vocabulary15 words
- wildfire
- a big fire that burns forests or fields
- heatwave
- many days of very hot weather
- tourist
- a person who travels to visit a place
- business
- a shop or company that sells things
- Prime Minister
- the leader of the government
- government
- the group of people who run a country
- region
- a part of a country
- firefighter
- a person whose job is to stop fires
- honest
- telling the truth
- hide
- to keep something secret
- local
- from a certain place
- dry
- not wet
- visit
- to go and see a place
- news
- information about new events
- department
- an area of France, like a region
Quiz
Answer key
1. Gironde 2. The government has nothing to hide 3. They went down by half
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
There are big _____ and a heatwave in France.
The fires are burning in a place called _____.
Sébastien Lecornu is the French _____ Minister.
He went to Gironde to see the _____.
He said the government has nothing to _____.
This means the government is _____ about the fires.
After the big fire, less _____ came to Gironde.
Tourist numbers went down by _____ since the end of July.
This is bad news for local _____.
Hot weather and _____ land help fires start.