France wildfires in Var force mass evacuations, threaten celebrity homes

A wildfire that ignited near Pontevès in the Var department has spread across the Gros Bessillon mountain range, burning roughly 4 500 ha. More than a thousand firefighters, dozens of vehicles, helicopters, Canadair aircraft and a Dash‑aircraft have been deployed. Strong winds and the forecast mistral raise the risk of further flare‑ups, prompting repeated evacuations in Barjols, Correns, Châteauvert, Cotignac and surrounding hamlets, affecting several hundred to a few thousand residents.

The blaze coincides with a separate, larger fire in the Gironde that has consumed about 42 000 ha, led to 220 000 evacuations since Wednesday, and required unprecedented resources including an A400M transport plane dropping 20 000 L of retardant. Major roadways such as the A63 and several SNCF lines near Bordeaux have been closed, and the incident has disrupted regional transport and events.

Celebrities with homes in the affected southwest region, including actor Guillaume Canet, actress Laura Smet and journalist Laurent Delahousse, posted messages of support for firefighters and expressed personal concern as the flames approached their properties. Authorities continue to coordinate large‑scale rescue and containment operations while urging residents to follow evacuation orders.