ISTANBUL: Germany has dispatched firefighting aircraft and emergency response teams to France as devastating wildfires continue to spread across the country’s southwest, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Saturday.
Merz said he had been in close contact with French President Emmanuel Macron and confirmed that Germany was providing immediate assistance to support France’s firefighting efforts. The aid package includes a helicopter, an A400M military transport aircraft, and specialised emergency personnel deployed to the affected regions.
Responding to the announcement, Macron publicly thanked Germany in German, highlighting the close cooperation between the two neighbouring countries as they confront the growing wildfire emergency.
The fires, which have been burning since Wednesday, have devastated more than 30,000 hectares in the Gironde department and forced the evacuation of nearly 170,000 residents. Emergency services continue working to contain the fast-moving blazes as they advance toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area.
Wildfires are also raging in the neighbouring Landes department, where firefighters remain engaged in efforts to prevent further destruction.
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said nearly 98,000 hectares of land had been consumed by wildfires nationwide as of Saturday, describing the scale of destruction as a historic record and underscoring the severity of this year’s fire season.
Authorities continue to monitor weather conditions as international assistance strengthens France’s response to one of the country’s worst wildfire outbreaks in recent history.
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