Crews are working against time to suppress major fires located nine miles from Bordeaux, as an approaching heatwave threatens to push temperatures as high as 41C.
Macron Declares Worst Crisis Since WWII
French President Emmanuel Macron declared the wildfire crisis to be the "most difficult situation" the country has confronted since World War Two, with more than 260,000 people across south-western France displaced from their homes.
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave noted that local officials are planning for "all eventualities" and setting up resources to "accommodate a large number of people should further evacuations be ordered".
Scale of the Disaster
The total area burned across France has reached over 42,000 hectares—equivalent to four times the footprint of Paris. The emergency has resulted in two firefighter fatalities, while 88 others have sustained injuries.
In neighbouring Spain, 63,000 people near Madrid have received evacuation orders. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez characterised the disaster as "the most painful expression of the climate emergency", while Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska highlighted that the coming days will mark an "absolutely crucial" period in fighting the fires given the high temperature forecasts.
Heatwave Warnings
National weather service Météo-France has placed the south-west region of Gironde under a yellow alert for high temperatures. The heat is expected to peak on Wednesday.
"We're facing a completely unprecedented fire," French President Emmanuel Macron said last evening, describing the situation as France's worst fire-related crisis since World War II. He praised fire crews for preventing the inferno from spreading further after days of flames advancing towards the city of Bordeaux. But he and other government officials warned that the battle is not yet over, with the fire still raging and another heatwave forecast for this week.
Local Impact
Manuel Martinez, mayor of Marcheprime, told outlet Franceinfo earlier this morning: "We are one of the worst-affected municipalities, right on the front line of the fire." He described it as a "wildfire unlike anything we've seen before" that officials are working to understand. "We are at war with an enemy," he said, calling for more resources for firefighters.
Captain Wilfried Schneider of SDIS 33, the Gironde Fire and Rescue Service, told the AFP news agency yesterday that the biggest blaze was between Marcheprime and Pierroton, on the outskirts of the Bordeaux metropolitan area. The Gironde prefecture said this morning that the huge wildfire is "still stabilised" following a "calm" night. Overnight flare-ups were brought under control, officials said, adding that the number of firefighters injured has risen to 93.
