Interior Minister Nuñez: Forest fire season much more intense – situation in the Pyrénées-Orientales remains tense

Perpignan – 06.07.2026: France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez gave a serious interim assessment of the current wildfire season on Monday. More than 11,000 hectares have already burned since the start of the season, compared with around 5,700 hectares on the same date last year. The minister said conditions had deteriorated again in the morning, pointing to strong winds, heat and dried-out vegetation, which are hampering the work of emergency response teams.

The Pyrénées-Orientales department has been particularly affected, where several major fires have been burning since the weekend. The prefecture reports evacuations in the affected municipalities and extensive access restrictions to protect the civilian population and keep emergency routes clear. The Tramontane – a dry northwesterly wind – is fanning the flames and causing fire fronts to spread rapidly. According to local authorities, several thousand hectares in the department have been affected, and some fire hotspots are still not fully under control.

Prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe is coordinating measures on site. Public access to forest and scrubland areas has been closed and access roads are being monitored. For safety reasons, sections along the route of the Tour de France in the department have been restricted for spectators in order to ensure emergency corridors. The Sécurité civile is on permanent duty with Canadair firefighting aircraft, Dash aircraft and helicopters; they are supported by hundreds of firefighters and gendarmes deployed from several regions.

Nuñez stressed that the national firefighting strategy is fully activated: strong prevention efforts, rapid ground teams, air support and interregional reinforcements. At the same time, he referred to a difficult pre-season marked by early and persistent drought, a pattern that is further worsening conditions in the already climate-exposed southwest. Experts have been warning for years that longer periods of heat, lower soil moisture and more frequent strong winds increase wildfire risk and reduce response windows.

Political demands are coming from the regions for additional equipment and permanent staffing reinforcements. There is debate over allocating more resources to water collection points, firebreaks, forest management and greater coordination between forest authorities, municipalities and civil protection. Spatial planning and urban development are also gaining importance, for example through minimum distances between settlements and risk zones or better-secured evacuation routes.

In the short term, the situation remains tense: Météo-France forecasts persistently high temperatures and renewed strong winds in parts of the south. Emergency command centers are maintaining evacuations and restricted zones until the fire hotspots are contained and the perimeters cleared. Authorities are urging residents and tourists to keep access routes clear, strictly avoid any open flames and immediately report suspicious signs.