FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

Bordeaux, July 24, 2026. Since Wednesday, a rare and highly virulent fire has been ravaging the Landes de Gascogne forest north of the Arcachon basin in Gironde. The fire, which started in the early afternoon in Saumos, spread to Le Porge and then progressed towards Lège-Cap-Ferret and Arès, increasing the burned area from 1,400 to over 4,800 hectares in less than 48 hours, according to local authorities. More than 23,000 people - residents, campsite occupants, and residents of a naturist domain north of Cap Ferret - have been evacuated in successive waves, with the prefecture describing the evacuations as "precautionary".

On the ground, approximately 500 firefighters and 150 vehicles are fighting the fire, supported by two Dash, two Canadair, and four Air Tractor aircraft. "We have a convective fire that is spreading in all directions," explained Marc Vermeulen, director of the Gironde departmental fire and rescue service. Captain Wilfried Schneider described the area as having a "very dense population of closely spaced pine trees", which is conducive to a rare and highly virulent spread. Gironde Prefect Sophie Brocas solemnly asked the population to respect the evacuation instructions, emphasizing: "There is no immediate danger, but it must be done now."

The origin of the fire remains uncertain: the mayor of Le Porge, Martial Zaninetti, mentioned a possible accidental trigger by a forest cleaning machine, a hypothesis that the authorities have not confirmed. The precedent of the summer of 2022, when over 30,000 hectares were destroyed in the same massif, weighs on local memory. No casualties have been reported on the French side at this stage. The tourism industry, a pillar of the Atlantic coast's economy in the midst of the summer season, is being severely impacted by the sudden closure of dozens of campsites and developments, adding an economic dimension to the security emergency.

This episode is taking place in a tense European context: in Spain, a fire near Madrid led to the evacuation of several towns, while in Sicily, three firefighters died fighting dozens of fires, amidst temperatures exceeding 40°C. France has experienced three heatwaves since May, a factor that authorities and scientists associate with the multiplication of extreme fires linked to climate change.