France battles massive 2026 wildfires, thousands evacuated

In July 2026, wildfires across southwestern France burned an area roughly four times the size of Paris, with the Gironde region alone affected by flames covering 42,000 hectares. About 224,000 residents were moved to safety and roughly 3,000 people were evacuated from the Provence‑Alpes‑Côte d’Azur area as temperatures reached 41 °C and strong winds fanned the fires.

German TV presenter Andrea Kiewel, vacationing near Bordeaux at the Bassin d’Arcachon, was forced to flee with her husband when the blaze threatened the region, documenting the escape in a personal column. The disaster has reignited debate in France over forest management, with officials linking the intensity of the “megafires” to extensive pine monocultures. President Emmanuel Macron visited Gironde and called for diversifying tree species and expanding fire‑fighting resources as part of a broader climate‑adaptation strategy.