The smell of burning reached central Madrid early Saturday, as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was set to visit the zone wracked by what officials have called the surrounding region's worst fire on record.The major fires have been burning for two or three days, with many hundreds of firefighters battling them around the clock, to the point of exhaustion. Both countries have asked for EU help.
A major fire in France that broke out Wednesday is threatening the Cap Ferret peninsula favoured by holidaymakers © Sherine ELSAYARY, Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA, Sylvie HUSSON / AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday ordered the military to enter the fiery fray, which hit residents and holidaymakers alike at the peak of France's vacation season.French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the country had never before seen such fires on this scale.A local French official warned the blaze near Bordeaux was threatening the city's greater area, home to many of the world's most prestigious wineries.Emergency shelters were set up in schools and gymnasiums in southwestern France for tourists and residents left wondering what they would return to.
The fire has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands in southwestern France © ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP
