France is facing an unprecedented start to the forest fire season. At a press briefing held on Friday 10 July at the Ministry of the Interior, Julien Marion, Director-General for Civil Protection and Crisis Management, sounded the alarm by revealing some alarming figures: more than 8,000 fires and 25,000 hectares of vegetation have gone up in smoke since the start of the year.
A figure twice as high as in 2025
“We’ve had an exceptionally intense start to the 2026 season in terms of forest fires,” Julien Marion said. The figures speak for themselves: during the same period last year, the area burnt was half as large.
Exacerbating weather conditions
Heavy rainfall during the winter and spring led to significant vegetation growth, which subsequently dried out as a result of successive heatwaves. “All this vegetation now acts as fuel for fires that are breaking out due to high temperatures, extremely low humidity and periods of strong wind,” explains Julien Marion. This explosive combination makes rescue operations particularly challenging.
To tackle these fires, the fire service is deploying all its aerial and ground resources. Water-bombing aircraft Dash-Q400MR, Canadair and helicopters Dragon aircraft are deployed to drop fire retardant or water on the blazes. These aircraft, supported by ground crews, play a key role in bringing the fires under control, which are often fanned by strong winds.