French President Emmanuel Macron declared the wildfire in the Landes department under control, saying the blaze is now fixed, after fires swept across southwestern France in recent days. The broader Gironde inferno has scorched 42,000 hectares and displaced 220,000 people.
Macron said France has mobilised 67 aircraft, including the Airbus A400M, and activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism to fight the blazes. He added that the civil security budget has risen from €450 million to €800 million over the past decade.
Across southern Europe, wildfires continued to rage on Monday. In Portugal, more than 1,000 firefighters backed by roughly 20 aircraft battled blazes in the north and centre. Spain faced active fires near Madrid and in the northeast, while in Italy more than 400 people were evacuated by sea from Peschici in Puglia.