France and Spain are facing historic severe wildfires, having evacuated more than 267,000 people and mobilized firefighters and military forces to combat fires that remain uncontrolled.
Foreign news agencies reported on Saturday, 25 July 2026, that the severe wildfires still uncontrollable in southwestern France and near Madrid, Spain, have forced over 267,000 people to urgently evacuate, pressuring the Paris government to deploy military support.
France's Interior Minister revealed that 197,000 people have been urgently evacuated from the areas around Bordeaux, including popular tourist sites crowded at this time of year, marking France's "largest peaceful evacuation operation" to date.
In Spain, about 70,000 people were evacuated from villages west of Madrid, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez affirming during a site visit that the foremost mission is "to protect people's lives."
AFP reporters noted that the sky over Madrid was covered with brown-gray smoke while thick black ash settled on rooftops in the city's northern center, causing residents to tightly close windows due to the irritating smoke smell.
Firefighters in both Spain and France have been working around the clock for several days but have yet to fully control the raging fires, although authorities say the intensity has begun to decrease in some areas.
So far, no civilian deaths have been reported; however, two French firefighters died earlier this week near Bordeaux.
Laurent Nuñez, France's Interior Minister, stated that the wildfire in the Gironde region near Bordeaux last night "was less severe than feared" and was no longer a self-sustaining fire fueled by wind currents.
Meanwhile, the Madrid government delegation posted on the X platform early Saturday morning that weather conditions overnight "greatly aided firefighting efforts, limiting fire spread and reducing intensity."
Nonetheless, the struggle continues. Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez warned, "We are heading into a complicated period in the next few hours because, despite lower temperatures, we do not yet know what will happen with the winds or how strong they will blow."
The rapid spread of wildfires in Spain and France is due to dry conditions prone to ignition, worsened by a heatwave that has battered both countries continuously since May.
Wildfires in France have destroyed nearly 98,000 hectares (about 242,000 acres), setting a "record high," especially in the southwest where over 32,000 hectares burned—three times the size of Paris—and at least 100 structures have been destroyed.
Spain's Interior Ministry reported that wildfires west of Madrid have consumed about 25,000 hectares (approximately 61,800 acres). Two of the three fire sites have merged and threaten to join a third, creating a massive blaze just kilometers from the capital.
Both countries have received assistance from the European Union in the form of firefighting aircraft sent by other EU member states.
France has deployed 1,000 soldiers to support firefighters near Bordeaux. On Saturday, the government ordered the deployment of a modified A400M military transport aircraft capable of dispersing up to 20 tons of fire retardant, joining a fleet of smaller firefighting planes actively dropping water.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened an emergency government meeting on Saturday, just one day after leading a previous session on the wildfire crisis.
The Paris Fire Department chief told AFP that 100 firefighters from the capital were dispatched to assist in southwestern areas, supplementing 45 firefighters and six fire trucks already deployed.
Several emergency shelters have been set up in schools and gymnasiums in southwestern France to accommodate tourists and residents evacuated from wildfire zones.
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Source:cna