Macron to convene crisis cabinet as wildfires encroach on Bordeaux

French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to convene a crisis cabinet meeting on Monday to address the worsening wildfire emergency across southern France. The decision follows the rapid expansion of blazes in the south-western region, which have now encroached to within approximately 15km of the city of Bordeaux.

The escalation in the Gironde department has prompted the mobilisation of military resources and high-level government coordination. Earlier crisis sessions were chaired by Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu, while French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has confirmed the scale of the displacement and pledged to protect Bordeaux. The fires north of Arcachon Bay alone have destroyed more than 12,500 hectares of land.

Concurrently, the crisis extends across the Pyrenees into Spain, where a national emergency has been declared. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is visiting fire-hit areas in Valencia to assess a new blaze that has forced thousands to flee their homes. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska is also expected to visit affected areas in the region on Monday.

The combined impact of the extreme heat and drought conditions has been severe across both nations. Cumulative evacuations now exceed 330,000 people. In south-west France, approximately 42,000 hectares have been burnt, while in Spain, about 77,000 hectares have been affected, including the Ávila wildfire, which has been described as the largest in the country's recent history.

In response to the devastation, Prime Minister Sanchez has called for a "major public pact on the climate emergency." King Felipe VI of Spain has also commented on the damage, as firefighters continue to battle intense blazes near Valencia and in the Ávila region. The outcome of Monday’s cabinet meeting in Paris remains to be seen, but the focus is on managing the immediate threat to populated areas and coordinating the extensive evacuation efforts.