French President Emmanuel Macron convened ministers on Monday before heading to south-west France, where wildfires have displaced hundreds of thousands and a new heatwave threatens to reignite the flames.
Issued on: 27/07/2026 - 17:12
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The crisis meeting brought together senior ministers to assess the response to fires burning across several parts of the country, with the government seeking to reinforce exhausted emergency services and coordinate international assistance. Macron was due to travel to the affected area near Bordeaux later on Monday to meet firefighters, local officials and residents, and to demonstrate government support for communities facing one of France’s most serious wildfire emergencies since the Second World War. France and Spain battle vast wildfires as fresh heatwave approaches The blaze on the outskirts of Bordeaux has already burnt through 42,000 hectares – an area roughly twice the size of Buenos Aires – and destroyed hundreds of homes. Although cooler temperatures, light rain and morning dew helped slow its advance overnight, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned that the fire had not yet been brought under control. “The fire did not spread overnight,” Nuñez said, while calling for continued “caution” ahead of a new heatwave forecast to begin on Tuesday. Temperatures are expected to rise above 40°C in parts of France, increasing the risk that the flames could regain strength and complicating efforts to secure areas already damaged by the fire.
