French PM orders deployment of A400M military transport plane to help battle fires
The aircraft is to be equipped with a dispensing kit that can release 20 tonnes of fire retardant, equivalent to the capacity of two Dash firefighting aircraft. Its deployment had previously been scheduled for the end of the month due to preparations and testing.
Meanwhile, around 100 Paris firefighters were being deployed Saturday to southwest France to help battle raging wildfires, the head of the Paris Fire Brigade told French press agency AFP.
Hundreds of firefighters have spent the past three days battling blazes in the southwestern department of Gironde, where the fires are particularly intense, as well as since Thursday near the town of Biscarrosse in the neighbouring department of Landes. Firefighters spray water along the edge of a forest during a wildfire near the town of Lege-Cap-Ferret, in southwestern France on July 24, 2026.
Arnaud de Cacqueray, commander of the Paris Fire Brigade, said the firefighters would primarily be involved in wildfire suppression operations.
He said 45 Paris firefighters and six vehicles had already been deployed to Gironde.
The wildfires in Gironde and Landes have forced the evacuation of more than 140,000 people and have already consumed 22,000 hectares of land.
French authorities ordered the evacuation of towns near the southwestern city of Bordeaux "as a precaution", as wildfires moved towards the area.
The traffic information website Bison Fute urged drivers to avoid roads in the Gironde department, where Bordeaux is located, to free up access for emergency services. Massive fires ravage near a residential area in Lège-Cap-Ferret in the south of France, 23 July 2026.
Around 500 additional soldiers are being sent to "support the firefighters" battling blazes in southwest France, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said after a crisis meeting with his key ministers.
EU emergency mechanism
French president Emmanuel Macron announced overnight that France had requested the activation of an EU emergency mechanism as fire and medical services came under growing pressure.
Macron calls for EU reinforcements as France battles spreading wildfires
“The situation remains extremely tense as fires ravage the country, particularly in Gironde,” the president wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“France has requested the activation of the European Union's civil protection mechanism. We will soon be able to count on reinforcements from two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, as well as two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.”
Macron praised the “concrete, swift and operational solidarity” shown by France's European partners and urged the public to remain alert.