A wildfire in the French Pyrenees has forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from dozens of towns and villages.
The blaze, located at Trévillach near Perpignan, has consumed at least 4,600 hectares (11,366 acres), the prefect of the region said on X. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned on TF1 that conditions were deteriorating and the battle against the fire would resume.
Strong winds are feared to fan the flames further, bringing the danger very close to homes – as a resident from Trévillach described, the fire arrived within 300 metres.
Organisers of the Tour de France have asked spectators to stay away from the last 40 km of the race’s third stage in Les Angles, and to keep the finish site clear for emergency vehicles.
The EU has dispatched four aircraft from Cyprus and Sweden to aid firefighting operations in southern France.
Spain’s Les Gavarres natural reserve has also lost more than 2,200 hectares to the blaze, and Catalan authorities said the fire would be fully extinguished by the end of the week.
Further down the Mediterranean, 500 people were evacuated from the Sierra de Espadan national park in eastern Castellón province after a wildfire spread there.
Temperatures may yet reach 40 °C in southwest France this week, with Europa already recording over‑40 °C in parts of Portugal and Spain. This heatwave, though not record-breaking, remains exceptional for early summer and increases the risk of more wildfires.
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