Europe is engulfed by a critical wave of forest fires, which has mobilized hundreds of firefighters in southern France and Greece. Extreme heat with temperatures above 40°C and strong winds complicate fire control and have necessitated mass evacuations. The critical situation has also directly affected the world's largest cycling race – „Tour de France“ imposed a complete ban on spectators at the end of its third stage.
The situation in France and the unprecedented course of the „Tour de France“
In southern France, the situation is most critical in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, near the city of Perpignan. A huge fire, spread over a front of 18 kilometers, burned over 1,500 hectares of land and imposed the emergency evacuation of more than 10,000 people from dozens of villages. About 750 firefighters, supported by 200 specialized machines and aerial equipment, are fighting the flames in strong winds and zero visibility.
Due to the close proximity of the fire, the prefect of the department Pierre Renaud de la Motte and the director of the “Tour de France“ Christian Prudhomme took an extraordinary decision for the third stage of the races (from Granoliers to Les Angles). The last 40 kilometers of the route on French territory remained completely closed to spectators. The authorities imposed the following restrictions:
Complete access ban: The public is prohibited from gathering along the route and in the finish area in Les Anglais. Advertising stop: The traditional advertising caravan that precedes the cyclists was not allowed on French territory at all. Minimum resource: Only the competitors and the most necessary organizational vehicles passed along the way, so as not to engage rescue teams needed on the fire front.
The fire element in Greece
On the other side of Southern Europe, Greece has recorded dozens of new fires in the past 48 hours. In the northern part of the country near Thessaloniki, a major fire broke out at a recycling plant. The fire also spread to neighboring factories, forcing authorities to evacuate three neighborhoods and a home for people with special needs.
Residents of Greece's second-largest city were urged to stay indoors and keep their windows tightly closed due to dangerous toxic smoke that blanketed the city center. Another large fire broke out in pine forests in the Mandra region, west of Athens, where more than 200 firefighters and nearly 30 aircraft were sent to extinguish it.
International aid and climate context
The European Union has now activated the resource-sharing mechanism “RescEU“. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that four firefighting aircraft from Cyprus and Sweden are being sent to help French firefighters.
Experts and local services warn that due to climate change and an extremely hot summer, the active fire season in Europe has started a month earlier than usual, and the risk of new outbreaks in Spain, Portugal and the Balkans remains critically high.