• French firefighters are battling major wildfires along the Atlantic coast and in the south of the country, leading to the evacuation of thousands of people to safety.
• President Emmanuel Macron announced that European partners are sending aircraft and helicopters to assist in combating the blazes, with France requesting support from countries like Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
• The fires have resulted in the evacuation of a total of 63,000 people in various affected areas, with significant damage reported, including the destruction of buildings and injuries to firefighters.

French firefighters continued to battle several major wildfires along the Atlantic coast and in the south of the country on Friday as authorities evacuated thousands more people to safety.

President Emmanuel Macron said European partners were sending aircraft and helicopters to support the effort against the blazes sweeping through areas popular with tourists.

"The situation remains under very high tension in the face of the fires ravaging the country, particularly in Gironde," Macron posted on X in the early morning, referring to the crisis in the region near Bordeaux.

He said France had requested the activation of the European Union's civil protection mechanism and would receive support from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

A total of 63,000 people were evacuated in several affected areas, officials said.

The most serious blaze was raging near the popular tourist destination of Bordeaux, where around 20,000 people were relocated from campsites and holiday resorts since Wednesday.

Another 20,000 people are being forced to leave 10 towns located on the Arcachon Basin, said French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. Ships were being used to evacuate Cap Ferret.

Due to another fire on the Atlantic coast south of Bordeaux, near the town of Biscarrosse, 23,000 more people had now been evacuated, the minister added. Here, too, campsites and holiday accommodations were primarily threatened by the fires, which now covered 2,500 hectares.

That outbreak was thought to have occurred after a delivery van caught fire due to a technical defect while driving on a forest road.

The blaze had now spread across 10,000 hectares, destroying 50 buildings and damaging 80 more, according to Nuñez. Around 1,500 firemen were working to contain the flames, supported by a large number of firefighting aircraft.

So far, no civilians had been injured, but one firefighter was injured, officials said. Earlier in the week, two firefighters were killed while battling a blaze near Bordeaux's airport.

Fires rage in other areas

In southern France, a wildfire near Pontevès, north-east of Marseille, also flared up again. About 500 residents were evacuated as a precaution, while around 800 firefighters backed by more than 100 soldiers fought the blaze.

For the first time ever, firefighting aircraft recently also took on water from the Seine south of Paris to tackle a major fire in the Forest of Fontainebleau.

France's defence ministry said it was preparing an Airbus A400M military transport aircraft for firefighting operations, with the plane able to drop 20 tons of water and expected to be ready within 10 days.

Temperatures of up to 39 degrees Celsius were expected again in the region on Friday.