French authorities have ordered the complete evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula as wildfires continue to spread across the south-west of the country. Hundreds of people escaped by boat, while others were directed to leave through the main road leading to Bordeaux.
The wildfire, which began on Tuesday in Saumos, has now destroyed about 8,700 hectares of land in the Gironde region. Officials said around 20,000 people had already been evacuated on Thursday, many of them tourists staying at campsites. Authorities later confirmed that residents of La Porge also left the area safely overnight.
Another major blaze in the Landes region has forced more than 23,000 people to evacuate from Biscarrosse and Parentis-en-Born. Officials said homes, campsites, a nursing home and a summer camp were cleared as firefighters worked to contain the flames. On Friday morning, the centre of Biscarrosse was also placed under evacuation orders.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the wildfire situation as extremely serious and confirmed that France had requested assistance from the European Union. Firefighting aircraft from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are expected to support operations.
Despite the scale of the disaster, no new casualties have been reported since two firefighters died near Bordeaux airport earlier this week. Authorities said security patrols would monitor evacuated areas to prevent looting.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Spain declared a national emergency as wildfires continued to burn near Madrid. This has forced evacuations in several communities while firefighters struggled to contain the advancing flames.
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