Seven Municipalities Near Bordeaux Evacuated as Wildfires Advance

French authorities have initiated the "preventive" evacuation of seven municipalities surrounding Bordeaux in southwestern France, as wildfires intensify. The prefect of the Gironde department announced the measure, which will force tens of thousands more residents to leave their homes. This latest evacuation order comes after more than 140,000 people had already been displaced in the Gironde and Landes departments, where major fires broke out earlier in the week. The situation worsened on Friday afternoon as a shift in wind direction caused the fire to advance towards the urbanized areas around Bordeaux, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. In response, the French government has dispatched 500 additional soldiers to Bordeaux, augmenting the existing 500 personnel already supporting the firefighting efforts. The French traffic information service, Bison Futé, has advised against travel through the Gironde department, anticipating significant disruptions on what is typically a busy "black Saturday" for holiday travelers. The Dutch embassy in Paris has also issued a warning to Dutch nationals in France, highlighting the severe wildfires affecting regions like Landes, Gironde, and Var, and noting that "no region in France seems to be spared from severe forest fires."