France Battles Massive Wildfires as Over 140,000 People Are Evacuated

Amid unprecedented blazes in the Gironde and Landes departments, French authorities have evacuated over 140,000 residents and requested international emergency assistance from the European Union.

Outbreak in Gironde and Cap Ferrat

A wildfire near the town of Saumos in the Gironde department broke out on Wednesday, July 22. Fanned by the wind, it spread very rapidly. By Friday, July 24, it had engulfed over 19,000 hectares of forest and destroyed around 100 buildings. Services evacuated thousands of residents from threatened areas.

The worst situation is on the Cap Ferrat peninsula on the French Riviera. Authorities ordered a total evacuation of the region.

Precautionary Evacuations Near Bordeaux

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated that the fire is heading towards Bordeaux, the capital of the department, while emphasizing that the city is not currently threatened.

However, the head of the prefecture announced the necessity of a precautionary evacuation in seven municipalities near Bordeaux. These include four municipalities west of the city: Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Le Haillan, Saint-Jean-d’Illac, Martignas-sur-Jalle, and Saint-Aubin-de-Medoc. The precautionary evacuation also applies, though only partially, to two municipalities bordering Bordeaux: Merignac and Eysines.

Merignac is the most populous municipality in the suburbs of Bordeaux. Residents received SMS messages sent by the prefecture instructing them to head towards Bordeaux, where spaces have been prepared at the exhibition center.

Second Major Blaze in Landes

A second major fire broke out on Thursday, July 23, near the town of Biscarosse in the Landes department. By Friday, it had covered about 3,500 hectares. Services evacuated over 31,000 residents of Biscarosse and the nearby town of Parentis-en-Born.

International Aid and Crisis Response

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on the platform X that the situation remains very tense in the face of fires destroying the country, especially in the Gironde Department, and praised the courage of firefighters and rescue services.

The president also announced that France has asked to activate the European Union’s civil protection mechanism. The country will receive support from two Croatian Canadair-type planes, two Portuguese Air Tractor-type planes, and two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

On Friday, July 24, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu convened a crisis meeting attended by representatives of the ministries of interior, armed forces, health, transport, and environment. He noted on X that in Gironde they are dealing with a convective fire that generates its own winds, accelerates its spread, and can suddenly change direction, a phenomenon civil security specialists have never faced before.

Lecornu announced that around 500 additional soldiers will be sent to support firefighters battling the fires in the Gironde and Landes departments in southwestern France, bringing the total number of military personnel fighting the fire to about 1,000. Additionally, 1.5 million FFP2 masks will be sent to the site, and over 140,000 residents have been evacuated from the threatened regions so far.