Mass evacuations ordered on French Atlantic coast as wildfire threat escalates

Around 4,000 are being evacuated from campsites, tourist residences, holiday villages and leisure parks

French authorities have ordered the emergency evacuation of 4,000 people from popular holiday spots along the Atlantic coast, as worsening weather threatens to feed raging wildfires.

The urgent clearance impacts campsites, holiday villages, tourist apartments, and leisure parks around Lacanau. Officials in the Gironde prefecture confirmed the order covers the popular seaside resort of Lacanau-Océan, alongside communities situated on both shores of Lake Lacanau.

Tourists and locals have been instructed to pack essential personal belongings, follow emergency instructions closely, and keep clear of the area until official clearance is granted.

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the wildfire disaster the “most difficult situation” the country has faced since the Second World War, as total evacuations across south-western France surged past 260,000. In nearby Bordeaux, Mayor Thomas Cazenave confirmed authorities are planning for “all eventualities” and setting up facilities to “accommodate a large number of people should further evacuations be ordered”.

The devastation continues to spread across Europe, with 63,000 people forced to flee their homes near Madrid in neighbouring Spain. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez branded the catastrophic blazes “the most painful expression of the climate emergency”.