France fights against three large fires that have forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people

France is fighting to combat 32 active fires that are ravaging the country, which have already forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people. For now, the fire in the Arcaishon basin is the most significant of the season, where more than 10,000 hectares have already burned. The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, reported that 40,000 people had been evacuated from this area so far, one of the main tourist areas on the Atlantic coast. The prefecture of the region informed in a statement that the gradual evacuation of the entire peninsula has been ordered, "village by village, from Claouey to the tip of Cap-Ferret", an operation that is being carried out by the only road on the peninsula and also by sea.

In parallel, there are three large forest fires that remain out of control this Friday, two in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region (Gironde and Biscarròssa) and a third in the Var department. French authorities, faced with this situation, have requested the activation of the European Union to reinforce the firefighting efforts with aerial means. "The situation remains under enormous tension due to the fires ravaging the country," declared the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, on his social media. Macron also took the opportunity to highlight that "this concrete, rapid and operational solidarity" from European partners "is a precious strength" in a difficult time.

The fire in the Gironde department has already burned nearly 4,800 hectares and the other, located in the Landes department, near Biscarròssa, has scorched 2,500 hectares. At present, the flames of these two fires have forced the evacuation of approximately 63,000 people in total, according to data provided by the minister. In addition, the fire affecting the Var department has registered multiple flare-ups this Thursday, and more than 800 firefighters remain deployed to contain the fire.

For all these reasons, France has requested aerial support from the European Union to combat the active fires. According to the French president, the country will receive two Canadair amphibious aircraft from Croatia, two Air Tractor aircraft from Portugal, and two Black Hawk heavy helicopters provided by the Czech Republic and Slovakia to combat the active fires burning in French territory.

According to the French government, more than 12,500 forest fires have already been registered since the beginning of the year, and the burned area already exceeds that recorded in 2022, a year marked by severe fires in the southwest of the country.