Firefighters in south-west France are struggling to contain vast wildfires burning near Bordeaux, forcing tens of thousands of residents from their homes as the blaze pushes closer to the city.
About 55,000 people were evacuated overnight into Sunday from villages south of the city in the wine-producing Gironde region, bringing the total number of evacuees in the south-west to more than 220,000.
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said on Sunday that the flames were roughly 15 km (9 miles) from the outer edge of the metropolitan area and up to 30 km from the city centre, though he downplayed the likelihood of a full city evacuation.
However, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned that the situation remained “very unfavourable”, noting that the fire was moving erratically toward the metropolitan area.
Firefighting operations are being hampered by high winds and dry conditions. Operations leader Captain Nicolas Braz described the blaze as “erratic and unmanageable,” explaining that the fire had generated “its own winds—complete with whirlwinds.”
Infrastructure and transport disrupted
The expanding crisis has disrupted travel and public services across the country:
- Airport Delays: Flight operations at Bordeaux Airport were hit with widespread delays and cancellations on Sunday afternoon after air traffic control restrictions were introduced to prioritize emergency aircraft.
- Road Closures: A 60km (37-mile) stretch of the A63 motorway, a major transport link heading toward Spain, has been closed to traffic.
- Tour de France: The final stage of the cycling race in Paris was cut from 133km to 89km on Sunday to allow security personnel to be reassigned to the emergency effort in the south-west.
A record-breaking fire season
The inferno in south-west France has destroyed roughly 42,000 hectares of land, making it one of the largest forest fires in the country since the Second World War. Nationwide, nearly 98,000 hectares have burnt since the start of the year.
Around 2,500 firefighters—including reinforcements from Switzerland—along with 1,500 military personnel and 1,200 police officers are deployed in the Gironde area to manage evacuations and battle the flames. A convention centre in Bordeaux has been repurposed as an emergency shelter for displaced residents.
The disaster forms part of a wider wave of extreme wildfires across Europe over the past week, particularly in France and Spain, where more than 330,000 people have been evacuated in total.
French President Emmanuel Macron pledged long-term support for affected communities, stating that the government would “be there for as long as is needed” and promising that devastated areas would be rebuilt.
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