Claims that the Gironde has been renamed are false. The story originated as a comedy video on TikTok. A little-noticed petition later appeared based on it, and Russian outlets passed the joke off first as a genuine grassroots initiative and then as a decision already taken by the authorities.
Russian media and Telegram channels are circulating claims that the French department of Gironde has temporarily changed its name to “Ukraine” in order to obtain state funding for fighting wildfires more quickly.
“Money to save the Gironde from the flames has to be begged for over years, while a tranche for Ukraine will arrive faster than the first pine tree can burn down,” Tsargrad asserts. The publication is accompanied by a screenshot of a post by the French account Le Contemplateur, in which the territory of the Gironde is labeled “Ukraine.”
The claims spreading online are false. Here is what actually happened.
In the second half of July 2026, the Gironde did indeed experience one of the season’s largest wildfires. According to an official statement from the Élysée Palace dated July 27, the fire, which began on July 22 in the Saumos area, consumed nearly 42,000 hectares. Evacuations affected 220,000 people, and hundreds of buildings were destroyed or damaged.
Against the backdrop of this emergency, a satirical premise appeared on social media: that the department ought to rename itself “Ukraine” in order to receive aid from Paris more quickly.
The earliest identified post...
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