A gigantic fire ravaging the south-west of France took on an “unprecedented scale” on Friday, heading towards Bordeaux, where established Quebecers were following with concern the massive evacuations and the advance of the flames.
Boaters relax on Moutchic beach, located about fifty kilometers from Bordeaux, in the southwest of France, on July 24, 2026, in an end-of-the-world atmosphere with the gigantic forest fire opposite.
Photo AFP
“The village next to mine was evacuated about fifteen minutes ago, so I prepared my suitcase,” testified Marc-Antoine Beaulieu, a Quebecer who lives in Pessac, about 10 km from Bordeaux. The smoke arrived around 6 p.m. and grew. It was very dense and very intense. The sky was red as if it were on fire. »
Marc-Antoine Beaulieu, 41, has lived in Pessac, near Bordeaux, for around 10 years.
Photo provided by Marc-Antoine Beaulieu
The fire that has been raging in the French department of Gironde since Wednesday took on a whole new intensity Friday evening when it headed towards the Bordeaux metropolis, one of the largest cities in the country. The flames were about fifty kilometers away.
The authorities will “do everything to protect” the city, assured the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nunez, adding that “we have never seen this, a self-feeding fire of this magnitude”.
In Gironde, the flames have already devoured more than 19,000 hectares, the equivalent of the island of Orléans, near Quebec.
Tens of thousands of tourists and residents have been evacuated in Gironde, in southwest France, due to the raging fire. Moutchic beach in Lacanau was almost deserted on Friday.
AFP
In this very touristy region, the fires have forced the evacuation of at least 140,000 people since Wednesday, in addition to 31,000 in the neighboring department of Landes, where another major fire is underway.
Quebecers on the alert
“They lost control of the fires […] If the fire happens to us, Bordeaux no longer exists,” says the 41-year-old man, who has lived in France for 10 years.
About twenty kilometers further south, in Arbanats, Mathieu Gonthier was also following developments closely.
“The problem is that our house is surrounded by forest so we are always afraid that it will go away,” says the Quebecer, also 41 years old. I have a woods next to my house. My house could be affected. We’re trying to come up with game plans if that ever happens. »
Even though he was several miles from the flames, he could see the thick blanket of smoke and could smell the smoke.
“The atmosphere is one of vigilance. There are several fires starting in other areas every day, it goes from left to right,” continues the father.
Also in Spain
Thirty-two fires were underway on Friday evening in France, while 50,000 hectares have been burned since the start of the year.
A firefighter waters along the edge of a forest during a fire near the town of Lège-Cap-Ferret, southwest France, July 24, 2026
AFP
Meanwhile, Spain also has to deal with “the worst fire in history” in the Madrid region, according to regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
“For a region like this, with a high concentration of housing and population, it’s a disaster,” he emphasizes.
By Friday evening, the fire was impossible to put out and more than 40,000 people had been evacuated or confined in the Madrid region.
The European Union has deployed four water bomber planes in Spain and three in France.
In both countries, these fires are the result of forests and vegetation made more flammable by the drought and exceptional heat waves that have occurred since June in Western Europe.
– With AFP
