Firefighters have battled through the night to tackle a blaze that tore through a historic forest near Paris, with at least two people arrested on suspicion of having started the fire near one of France’s best-known royal palaces.
“It is not under control,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said last night, adding that the main blaze in Fontainebleau and another one nearby that started yesterday afternoon had scorched 1,300 hectares.
Mr Nuñez said the fire was just a few kilometres away from the Palace of Fontainebleau, which explained the deployment of considerable resources, including water-carrying planes and helicopters.
For the first time, Canadair aircraft skimmed the River Seine to fill their tanks, attempting to contain a blaze that turned the sky black.
Just 70km from Paris, the fire forced the closure of the A6 highway linking the capital with Lyon and the south.
The fires have forced some 1,000 people in and around Fontainebleau to flee their homes
Smaller fires in the area also disrupted high-speed train services.
As many as 900 people were evacuated from their homes.
France is celebrating Bastille Day today, which is usually accompanied by evening fireworks.
This year’s celebrations coincide with a World Cup semi-final match in which France is taking on Spain in the evening local time and which, win or lose, will likely see fans spilling outside to either celebrate or mourn once the final whistle blows.
Mr Nuñez said the Fontainebleau blaze is contributing to what will likely be a historic year for fires in France, with 32,000 hectares burned already this year, more than the total in 2025.
Firefighting helicopters collect water from a temporary reservoir
“We’ll probably have a record year,” he said.
“We expected this with this major drought,” Mr Nuñez added.
Europe is enduring its third heatwave of the summer, with tinder-dry vegetation and high temperatures fuelling blazes from the Iberian Peninsula to France.
Many scientists say climate change is making wildfires more frequent and difficult to combat.
Mr Nuñez said 59 people have been arrested across France on suspicion of starting fires across the country.
Around half were adults and half minors, with some repeat offenders, he said.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences