PARIS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- France has requested the activation of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism as wildfires continue to spread across the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday.
In a post on social media platform X, Macron said the wildfire situation remained under very high tension across France, particularly in the southwestern Gironde department.
He said France would soon receive aerial firefighting assistance, including two Canadair aircraft from Croatia, two Air Tractor aircraft from Portugal, and two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
According to satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), cited by French daily Le Parisien, more than 42,000 hectares have burned across France since the beginning of the year, already above the total area burned in the whole of 2025. Nearly 15,000 hectares burned during the first two weeks of July alone, with affected areas including the Fontainebleau Forest southeast of Paris.
Two wildfires broke out in the Fontainebleau Forest, about 60 km southeast of Paris, on July 12 and July 13. The French National Forestry Office said the fires scorched about 2,000 hectares, or around 10 percent of the forest's total area.
A wildfire that broke out on Tuesday near the Arcachon Bay in Gironde department has continued to spread. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday at a press conference that the blaze had burned more than 10,000 hectares, forced the evacuation of 40,000 people and destroyed 80 houses.
Another wildfire erupted on Thursday afternoon in Biscarrosse in the neighboring Landes department, in the southwestern Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Local authorities said on social media that by 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Friday, the fire had spread across more than 2,500 hectares and remained out of control due to strong winds. More than 23,000 people had been evacuated.
France was battling 32 active wildfires, while more than 50,000 hectares had burned nationwide since the beginning of the year, French daily Le Figaro reported on Friday, citing Nunez. ■