Homes have been evacuated, train lines and motorway traffic have been interrupted over wildfires raging in Fontainebleau forest, Southeast of Paris, France.
President of France, Emmanuel Macron, in a statement on X, said, “all available resources are being mobilized”, as he expressed “profound” gratitude to firefighters and rescue workers.
This is happening as heatwave continues to engulf Western Europe.
The wildfires erupted near a motorway outside Fontainebleau near the French Capital and home to one of France’s best-known royal palaces.
Flames had ravaged more than 800 hectares by the morning of Monday, fanned by hot winds. Train lines were disrupted due to the wildfires and the A6 motorway was forced to a partial closure. The motorway links the Northern and Southern regions of France.
President Macron said: “The Fontainebleau forest is struck by a fire of exceptional magnitude.
“To the residents of Seine-et-Marne, I want to express our solidarity. To the firefighters and rescue forces engaged without respite, our profound gratitude. All available resources are being mobilized.”
In the nearby Vaudoue Village, fifteen (15) homes had to be evacuated.
Around 400 firefighters converged to fight the fires across several towns in the areas, and two (2) fire-bombing planes were deployed by authorities to tackle the fires.
The fires were described as “very virulent” and of “exceptional scale” by officials. Eric Brocardi of the National Federation of Firemen of France, said, this was the first time fire-bombing planes had to be deployed from the hotter and drier south of France to kill fires in the Paris region.
Brocardi further said, two (2) firefighting helicopters and an aircraft for observation were also deployed to contain the wildfires.
Currently, the Paris region is experiencing a heatwave, which heightens the risk of fires.
According to scientists from the World Weather Attribution Group, the recent heatwave would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change.
Officials in France have been forced to shut down three (3) nuclear power stations due to the ongoing heatwave in the country.
Laurent Nunez, Minister of Interior, disclosed, Forest fires have already ravaged 17,000 hectares of land in 2026, “twice as much as the same period” in 2025.
Photo: Wildfires raging in Fontainebleau forest, in the south of the Paris region | Franck Desprez / SDIS 77 / AFP / Lehtikuva
