French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu officially announced that the devastating wildfires that have been engulfing the country for weeks are now under full control.
“Overall, the fires in the country are now under control“, Lecornu said in an interview with the weekly “La Tribune Dimanche“ (source: en.apa.az/europe/france-announces-wildfires-in-the-country-have-been-brought-under-control-518661). His statement brought huge relief to thousands of locals and tourists at the peak of the summer season.
The situation in Gironde has stabilized
The situation remained most critical in the Gironde department, located in the southwest of France near Bordeaux. There, the fire became the largest forest fire in the country since 1949 (source: wam.ae/en/article/c1ik1bn-frances-largest-wildfire-decades-now-under-control). The fire burned over 42,000 hectares of pine forests along the Atlantic coast and destroyed about 240 residential buildings.
The prime minister stressed that in Gironde, emergency services had returned to a much more stable mode of operation. Fighting the flames there was extremely difficult, as the scale of the fire generated its own air currents, making its spread completely unpredictable. The improvement in weather conditions, combined with the round-the-clock work of firefighters, has finally paid off.
Mass evacuation and huge material damage
In recent weeks, France has experienced a real climate nightmare, caused by a series of deadly heat waves and a historic drought. Satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) shows that a total of 92,000 hectares of land have burned in France since the beginning of the year (source: today.rtl.lu/news/world/frances-largest-wildfire-in-decades-under-control-says-minister-610063304). This is the highest value recorded in the country in the last 20 years.
The crisis forced the authorities to carry out an unprecedented evacuation, with more than 220,000 people being evacuated from their homes and vacation spots (source: m.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/01/08/2026/french-interior-minister-announces-control-over-largest-wildfire-in-decades). The majority of them have now been allowed to return to their homes. Rail traffic south of Bordeaux, which was blocked due to the proximity of the flames to infrastructure, has also been restored.
Authorities call for vigilance
Despite the positive turn, Gironde Prefect Sophie Brocas and Interior Minister Laurent Nunes warned that “a localized fire does not mean a fire is completely extinguished“. In some areas, there are still active smoldering fires that are constantly monitored. French police are also continuing investigations into deliberate arson, with over 308 people detained in the country so far (source: bssnews.net/international/410873).
Prime Minister Lecornu ended his statement with an appeal for solidarity with the economy of the affected regions. He encouraged French citizens and foreign guests not to cancel their plans and to spend their holidays in the regions around Bordeaux to support local businesses after the natural disaster.