Fire-hit small firms' aid extended to 4 October, three communes added

Enterprises de moins de 250 salariésLegifrance placed on activité partielle after the summer wildfiresLegifrance keep a State top-up that fills the gap between what the employer pays the employee and what the employer receives, and the window now runs to 4 October 2026Legifrance instead of 30 August. Décret n° 2026-874 du 17 septembre 2026 amendsLegifrance Décret n° 2026-776 du 14 août 2026Legifrance, which created the aide exceptionnelle for businesses hit by the fires that were subject to an evacuation or confinement measureLegifrance.

Three cumulative conditions open the aid. The business must hold an activité partielle authorisation covering all or part of the period from 20 July to 4 October 2026Legifrance; the short-time work must be on one of the grounds at 3° or 5° of article R. 5122-1 du code du travail following a forest fireLegifrance; and the establishment must sit inside a perimeter placed under prefectoral evacuation or confinement orders, in a listed commune. Headcount against the 250-employee ceiling follows article L. 130-1 du code de la sécurité sociale. The aid is due for each indemnisation request covering 20 July to 4 October 2026 under such an authorisationLegifrance, and for every non-worked hour counted toward the activité partielle allocation it equals the difference between the indemnity paid to the employee under article R. 5122-18 and the allocation paid to the employer under articles R. 5122-12 and D. 5122-13Legifrance.

The commune lists are split in two. Annexe 1 covers 20 July to 30 August 2026 across Gironde, Landes and Var; against the original version it adds Pessac in Gironde and Garein and Luglon in LandesLegifrance, and corrects the spelling to Biscarrosse. Annexe 2 covers 31 August to 4 October 2026Legifrance and lists the same 24 Gironde communes and the same 5 Landes communes — but no Var commune, so Var establishments qualify only for hours in the first periodLegifrance.

The préfet of the département awards the aidLegifrance and the Agence de services et de paiement pays itLegifrance. The administration may ask the employer for anything needed to award, pay and control it. Overpaid sums are recovered through a mise en demeure giving at least thirty days to repay the AgenceLegifrance; on a reasoned request filed in time with proof of its financial situation, a business may obtain a total or partial remission from the préfet where repayment is incompatible with its economic and financial position, taking cash flow, turnover and the amount overpaid into account. The Agence de services et de paiement runs the data processing needed for payment, complaints and appeals.

Legal basis: Décret n° 2026-874 du 17 septembre 2026 amending Décret n° 2026-776 du 14 août 2026, applying articles R. 5122-1, R. 5122-18, R. 5122-12 and D. 5122-13 du code du travail and article L. 130-1 du code de la sécurité sociale.