Forest fires: France already reports more than 32,000 hectares affected

Fontainebleau – 13/07/2026: France is experiencing a particularly early and widespread start to the wildfire season. According to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, fires have affected more than 32,000 hectares of vegetation across the country since the beginning of the year. The affected area has therefore already exceeded that of the entire 2025 fire season. The figure includes not only destroyed forest areas, but the entire territory crossed by the fire.

At the center of the current situation on Monday was the fire in the Fontainebleau forest in Seine-et-Marne. The blaze had spread to an unusual extent for the region and required the deployment of substantial firefighting resources, including firefighting aircraft. Authorities are investigating the causes. Laurent Nuñez stated that the possibility of deliberate ignition is also being examined; initially, no definitive conclusion was yet available.

However, the concentration of fires does not concern only the Paris metropolitan area. In recent weeks, the Pyrénées-Orientales, Drôme, and several departments in southern and southeastern France had already been hit by major vegetation fires. Especially in these areas, persistent drought, high temperatures, and wind promote rapid spread. Fires are therefore occurring much earlier than during the traditional high-risk summer months.

The comparison with 2025 highlights the scale of the phenomenon. As early as the beginning of July, authorities had reported an unusually high number of fire outbreaks and several thousand personnel mobilized. For the state, this is above all a question of endurance capacity: firefighters, civil protection services, and the air fleet must remain operational simultaneously in several regions for a longer period.

The government had launched the national campaign against forest and vegetation fires on June 4 at the Nîmes-Garons base. Since 2023, the Direction générale de la sécurité civile et de la gestion des crises has coordinated essential parts of air and ground operations there. France is expanding its firefighting aircraft capacity and, together with the European Union, is financing two additional Canadair aircraft. However, the expansion will be fully effective only in the medium term.

The current assessment also indicates a structural change in risk. Météo-France and state authorities believe that the danger of vegetation fires is expanding in space and time. The Fontainebleau fire is therefore politically significant: it shows that not only the Mediterranean region, but also the wooded areas of the Paris Basin must prepare for longer periods of drought and extreme fire situations.

For the coming days, the situation will continue to depend on weather developments, wind, and the success of ongoing firefighting operations. Authorities urge the population in wooded and brush-covered areas to avoid all sources of ignition