Wildfires continue to burn across southern France today (July 3) as strong winds and high temperatures aggravate the risk of blazes starting and spreading.
Thousands have been evacuated from their homes and campsites in several departments as around 30 significant fires have been reported in recent days.
Around 2,000 firefighters have been deployed to tackle the blazes, alongside hundreds of vehicles and aircraft.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez will visit Aude today, the site of the largest fire so far this summer.
Blazes across south
A blaze that began in Hérault on Wednesday (July 1) has spread west and continues to burn, despite firefighters putting out the main thrust of the fire.
Hundreds of residents have been evacuated from villages in the Aude department, including Pouzols-Minervois.
Authorities had to wake residents up at around 03:00 on Thursday morning to evacuate them before the fire got too close.
Some residents had already been evacuated on Wednesday evening as the fire made its initial approach.
“I was in a panic. When I saw the flames on the hill yesterday, I ran home, grabbed a bag, and left with my son just as the gendarmes were knocking on our door to tell us to evacuate,” said one 39-year-old parent to media outlet Actu.
As of 09:00 on Friday morning the fire continues to blaze near the village. However, firefighters say the fire is being managed and will not advance further towards homes. Wind turbines near the village have been damaged.
Elsewhere, a series of fires around Canet-en-Roussillon (Pyrénées-Orientales) last night caused around 3,000 people to be evacuated from homes and nearby campsites.
The blazes are now under control, the departmental prefecture said in an update this morning, but 281 bungalows at campsites near the blaze were destroyed.
Six civilians, including one child, received minor injuries during the fire – as did two firefighters – but no serious injuries were recorded.
One of the fires spread to the industrial area of Canet, burning two buildings used for making catamarans, but was put out before it burned a warehouse containing vital building materials.
Other notable blazes include a second fire near Narbonne (Aude) that was put out on Thursday evening, and Roquemaure (Gard), which saw 11 homes evacuated.
Two fires north of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) are now under control and the land is being doused after around 315 hectares of land was burned since Wednesday.
Following a crisis meeting over summer threats to France, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that 1,200 hectares of land burned on Wednesday (July 1) alone.
More than 7,000 outbreaks of fire have already been recorded in France this year, according to figures cited by France Télévisions.
European figures report around 28,000 hectares of land has been burned so far in 2026 in France, with more significant fires recorded than last summer.
In comparison, 2025 saw 36,000 hectares burned overall across the summer in France according to EU data, close to half of this attributed to a single blaze (which was nevertheless France’s most potent wildfire in decades).
The devastating 2022 wildfire season saw 66,000 hectares burned in France. That year was accompanied by major droughts, an acute fear for this summer.
Heatwave to exacerbate conditions
State forecaster Météo France has placed six departments on the highest alert for forest fire risks today (Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Hérault, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse).
On Saturday (July 4) this drops to only three, however many departments in the south remain on a heightened alert, and departments as far north as the German and Luxembourg borders face at least some forest fire risk warning.
Similar to its weather alerts, the map only provides information one day in advance, so it is necessary to check back daily for new information.
While risks in the south will decrease as the Mistral and Tramontane winds die down over the weekend, rising temperatures will further dry out vegetation across France, ripening conditions for new blazes to appear.
Heatwaves mean conditions across France are reaching ‘the three 30s’, a high-risk scenario. It means temperatures are above 30C, vegetation at less than 30% humidity (dried out by the heat) and winds above 30km/h.
