LEGE-CAP FERRET, France — France deployed a heavy A400M military transport to drop fire‑retardant over the advancing flames on Saturday, while officials shortened the final Tour de France stage to reallocate security forces to the affected areas, which have compelled tens of thousands to evacuate.
This week’s wildfires across southern Europe have forced more than 250,000 residents to seek shelter, with about 70,000 evacuated from central Spain alone; officials confirmed the first fatality in Manises, as reported on the local municipality’s Facebook page.
In France, a massive A400M aircraft released a long stream of ochre retardant over drought‑stricken woodlands in the southwest, while ground crews battled flames that officials warned could spread toward the renowned Bordeaux wine region.
Organizers and Paris police declared that Sunday’s 21st and concluding stage of the three‑week Tour de France would be shortened, a move necessitated by the strain that two major southwestern fires have placed on emergency services.
Cyclists will compete on Sunday within Paris rather than departing from Thoiry, completing a 89‑kilometer circuit—approximately one‑third shorter than the originally planned 133‑kilometer route. Part of the event’s security contingent will instead bolster wildfire response efforts, as outlined in the official statement.
Anticipating a westward‑to‑eastward wind shift on Saturday afternoon that could push flames nearer to Bordeaux, firefighters were constructing trenches and applying retardants, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned, describing the upcoming battle as “long and very difficult.”
He noted that the fire, located roughly 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of the city, had moderated overnight; the Gironde prefecture stated that the blaze had evolved into a “firestorm” on Friday after igniting earlier in the week, yet emphasized that it remains dangerous despite ongoing containment progress.
The government activated military personnel to augment firefighting crews and distributed 1.5 million face masks to guard residents against inhaling dense smoke.
Authorities issued evacuation orders for populations situated between the advancing fire and Bordeaux, encompassing western suburbs of the city and neighboring towns and villages.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu characterized the fires as unprecedented, noting that the Gironde blaze had intensified on Friday to the point of generating its own wind patterns; he announced that firefighting units would be reinforced with additional soldiers and that breathing masks would be supplied to protect those exposed to potentially harmful smoke particles.
In Bordeaux, officials opened an exhibition center to shelter thousands of evacuees, providing food and temporary accommodation; the mayor indicated the facility could accommodate up to 10,000 people if needed. While the city’s airport stayed operational, bus and tram services were halted.
Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas announced that mobile‑phone alerts would be used to instruct residents to evacuate, and she reported that approximately 140 homes in the region had been destroyed by the fire.
The French military’s specially converted A400M transport aircraft, a heavyweight asset for fire‑fighting, joined at least 18 other water‑dropping planes and helicopters deployed in the Gironde region, rotating in smoky skies to assist suppression efforts.
The intensity of the French and Spanish wildfires, exacerbated by soaring temperatures and long‑term climate change trends, caught both fire crews and authorities off guard.
Spanish firefighters reported that the blazes advanced so rapidly and violently that direct suppression was ineffective; in France, residents in coastal tourist towns escaped by boat as flames swept across the Atlantic shoreline.
“We have never witnessed anything like this,” said Javier Organista, a resident of El Tiemblo west of Madrid, where the fire scorched a celebrated chestnut grove. “‘It is truly heartbreaking,’ he added.
Spain mobilized 2,600 firefighters, police and other emergency responders to combat two fires west of Madrid, supported by 19 water‑dropping aircraft and helicopters.
France deployed 1,400 firefighters to the Gironde blaze and hundreds more to a separate wildfire further south in the Landes region; dozens of firefighters sustained injuries amid chaotic scenes as residents fled by car and police went door‑to‑door urging evacuation.
A series of unusually early and intense heat waves this year have baked Europe with record‑breaking temperatures, turning forests and scrubland into tinderboxes.
According to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, fires have already scorched 130,000 hectares of forest this year—up from an average of 100,000 hectares annually over the past decade—while more favorable weather on Saturday provides a “window of opportunity” for crews to bring the blazes under control; Madrid’s regional authorities noted a decline in fire intensity as winds and temperatures fell.
