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🇳🇱 Netherlands /Disasters & Emergencies

Number of evacuations in France rises to 110,000, government holds crisis talks

From NRC Handelsblad · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Evacuations in France's Gironde region due to wildfires have increased to 110,000 people.
  • The fires have consumed 14,000 hectares of land, exceeding the scale of previous years.
  • The French government is holding a crisis meeting, and military resources are being deployed to aid firefighting efforts.

The number of people evacuated due to wildfires in France's southwestern Gironde region has surged to at least 110,000, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. Residents from Sainte-Hélène and Salaunes, near Bordeaux, have been ordered to leave their homes as the blazes intensify.

Nuñez described the situation as an "unprecedented phenomenon," with the fires significantly surpassing the scale of those in previous years. Approximately 14,000 hectares of land have been engulfed by flames, an increase from 10,000 hectares earlier in the day. The Bordeaux airport has been closed, and military assets are being mobilized to support the firefighting operations.

The French government convened a crisis meeting Friday evening, led by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. Ministers from Defense, Public Health, and Transport were in attendance. While the city of Bordeaux itself is not currently threatened, the escalating situation demands a coordinated national response.

confronted with an unprecedented phenomenon

— Laurent NuñezThe French Interior Minister described the scale of the wildfires.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by NRC Handelsblad in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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