France battles unprecedented wildfire season as 50,000 hectares burn

Nearly 50,000 hectares of land have been destroyed by wildfires in France during what authorities have described as an unprecedented fire season.

Julien Marion, director general of civil security, told RTL that France is experiencing an exceptionally severe wildfire season. Although weather conditions are expected to improve, he warned that the fires are unlikely to be brought under control quickly.

“We are experiencing a completely unprecedented fire season. We expect weather conditions to improve, but that does not mean the fires will go out. There is still a great deal of work ahead,” Marion said.

He added that no rainfall is expected in the Gironde, Var, and Landes regions, with only dry thunderstorms forecast. While the wildfire threat has decreased slightly compared with previous days, firefighting operations remain difficult.

One of the largest fires is spreading in the southwestern department of Gironde, where around 20,000 people have been evacuated.

Amid the crisis, French President Emmanuel Macron requested assistance from European Union partners through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Macron said France is expected to receive two Canadair firefighting aircraft operated by Croatia, two Air Tractor planes from Portugal, and two heavy Black Hawk helicopters provided by the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Stabil.Az