President Emmanuel Macron has requested assistance from aircraft and helicopters through the European Union's civil protection mechanism as wildfires intensify across France, while authorities have ordered the evacuation of towns near the southwestern city of Bordeaux on Saturday "as a precaution."
French authorities ordered the evacuation of towns near the southwestern city of Bordeaux on Saturday "as a precaution", as wildfires moved towards the area.
The traffic information website Bison Fute urged drivers to avoid roads in the Gironde department, where Bordeaux is located, to free up access for emergency services.
Macron announced overnight that France had requested the activation of an EU emergency mechanism as fire and medical services came under growing pressure.
“The situation remains extremely tense as fires ravage the country, particularly in Gironde,” the president wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“France has requested the activation of the European Union’s civil protection mechanism. We will soon be able to count on reinforcements from two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, as well as two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.”
Macron praised the “concrete, swift and operational solidarity” shown by France’s European partners and urged the public to remain alert.
“I call on our fellow citizens to exercise the utmost vigilance. Every action counts in protecting our lives, our homes, our forests and our landscapes,” he said.
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Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said France’s emergency services were engaged in a “genuine battle against the wildfires”, adding: “The nation stands with you.”
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism allows member states and other participating countries to coordinate emergency assistance when a disaster overwhelms the response capacity of a single country.
France’s call for help comes as large parts of southern Europe struggle with fires following three successive heatwaves, which have worsened drought, strained water supplies and left forests and grassland exceptionally dry.
Evacuation by boat
Authorities began evacuating the entire Cap Ferret peninsula on Friday, as a major wildfire threatened the popular holiday destination on France’s Atlantic coast.
Residents and tourists were told they could leave by boat from piers in four villages between 7am and 10am. Anyone remaining after that period was required to leave by the only road connecting Cap Ferret with the mainland, according to Sophie Brocas, prefect of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
The order for a complete evacuation underlined the severity of the fire, which had already burnt through 8,700 hectares north of the peninsula and was still raging on Friday.
Cap Ferret, known for its beaches, oyster villages and expensive holiday properties, is particularly busy during the summer, with large numbers of tourists staying in campsites and rental homes.
Some 800 firefighters, supported by soldiers and police officers, have been deployed to prevent the flames from reaching the peninsula.
The blaze began near the town of Lège on Wednesday and is believed to have been caused by accident. It has spread through the Landes de Gascogne forest, an area already severely affected by wildfires in the summer of 2022.
Summer camp and care home under threat
A second major fire near Biscarrosse, around 40 kilometres south of Cap Ferret, had burnt 2,500 hectares by Friday and remained out of control.
More than 23,000 people were evacuated from homes and campsites, along with children from a summer camp and residents of a care home. Landes prefect Gilles Clavreul said strong winds were keeping the situation “highly dynamic and unfavourable”, while farmers were asked to provide water tanks.
Further east, a fire that began near Pontevès on Tuesday had swept through around 2,700 hectares of the Var department, damaging 50 homes and destroying 25. More than 300 people were evacuated from surrounding towns and villages.
Dozens of flare-ups fuelled by the mistral wind threatened the historic village of Cotignac on Thursday. Prefect Simon Babre said firefighters had “regained some ground”, although the danger remained significant.
Nuns were seen praying beside the road outside Cotignac as firefighters worked to defend the village.
This article has been adapted from the original version in French.
