Quarter of a million evacuated in France as wildfires spread near Bordeaux

Wildfires in France and Spain have forced more than a quarter of a million people to leave their homes, with the blazes continuing to burn out of control in several areas. In France, the mayor of Bordeaux said the flames were only 15 miles from the centre of the historic city, having already ravaged much of the surrounding Gironde wine region. Around 400 square miles of land have been affected in France, making it one of the country's worst forest fires since the Second World War. A further 55,000 people were ordered to evacuate, bringing the total to about 250,000. French President Emmanuel Macron promised to rebuild after an area 10 times the size of Paris was destroyed. A giant military cargo plane was deployed for the first time to drop fire retardant near Bordeaux.

Firefighters have been battling strong and erratic winds around the clock. Higher humidity and lower temperatures over the weekend reduced the intensity of the flames, but the weather forecast is expected to turn unfavourable again. In the Gironde region, civilians have joined the effort, with one farmer arriving with a tank of water to help exhausted crews. Police went door to door in the village of Samadade-en-Jal to enforce evacuation orders. A 91-year-old resident, Claude, was reluctant, saying: "I'm thinking about it, but it's just not me." Evacuees described their distress. One woman said: "I didn't understand, I didn't understand but I'm in tears because I don't get it. We felt belittled, less than nothing." Another resident, Mathieu Plessis, returning to his destroyed home, said: "It's hell, we've lost everything." Schools and leisure centres have been turned into shelters for the displaced. In the city of Bordeaux itself, smoke is visible but officials said there is no evacuation of the city underway, and they warned that false information was circulating in some foreign media.

In Spain, around 300 square miles of land have been affected by wildfires. Two large fires near Madrid have burnt 25,000 hectares, twice the surface area of Paris. A change in the wind has eased conditions slightly, but Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned of difficult hours ahead. He visited the affected area near Avila and said the country needed much better coordination to deal with what he called a climate emergency. Spain has already faced more than 30 major fires this year. Local officials said both fires remain out of control, though the wind is expected to weaken from midday. Around 100,000 people have been affected, including those evacuated and those told to stay indoors. No casualties have been reported. People have largely complied with orders, though there are criticisms of forest management and government handling. Under a European Union agreement, Portuguese fire crews have joined the fight. Sanchez said he wants a national agreement on tackling wildfires and will speak to mayors about reconstruction once the immediate threat is over.

Separately, two planes crashed into each other during a wildfire operation near Athens, Greece. Two crew members, a Danish pilot and a Greek fire officer, died. A British pilot and a Greek crew member survived and were taken to hospital. In France, the vast wildfire near Bordeaux has been contained, though it is still burning. A separate blaze in Provence has stopped advancing but is not yet under control. Around 3,000 firefighters remain deployed across both areas.

Experts say an exceptionally wet winter led to high levels of plant growth, which was then dried out by the hottest start of the year on record. Human-induced climate change has played a central role in the scale of these fires.