A fast-moving wildfire has scorched 800 hectares of the Fontainebleau forest, about 60 kilometres southeast of Paris, prompting mass evacuations and the partial closure of the A6 motorway during the first major summer holiday weekend.
Two Canadair waterbombing planes scooped water from the Seine to battle the blazes on Monday — the first time such aircraft have been deployed from southern France to the Paris region. Hundreds of firefighters worked to contain the flames as 15 homes were evacuated in the village of Vaudoué and more than 1,000 residents and tourists were moved to safety.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the fire may have been deliberately set, citing multiple ignition points within a small perimeter. He noted that forest fires have already consumed 17,000 hectares nationwide this year, double the area burned in the same period of 2025.