Almost 3,000 individuals have been relocated in the south region. France water-bombing aircraft were sent to fight forest fires following an unprecedented heatwave at the end of the previous month.
Visitors and area locals were required to evacuate following a fire outbreak in the village of Sainte-Marie-la-Mer, which then extended to Canet-en-Roussillon on Thursday.
Approximately half of the displaced individuals originated from three campgrounds in the region, which was the site of the initial fire, leaving many mobile home units damaged or demolished.
It later moved to the marina district, where dense, poisonous smoke covered the vessels, as 1,200 firefighters worked to contain the advancing fire since Wednesday.
"Current weather conditions are still very poor," said Interior Minister Laurent Nunez on X, as wind speeds have reached up to 70 kilometers per hour and continue to increase.
France recently faced an unprecedented heatwave that spanned 11 days, with temperatures exceeding 40°C in numerous areas.
In addition to causing significant effects on human health, environments, farming, and buildings, the extreme heatwave increased the likelihood of fires, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s statement last week.
The French Meteorological Service stated that a period of rapidly rising temperatures will affect the nation next week—possibly reaching an intense 44°C—but these levels are not anticipated to be as severe as those seen in June.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu stated that 'climate-related incidents' have played a role in causing 'quite serious' and exceptionally early wildfires.
He stated during an emergency conference held in the southern city of Marseille that we have to recognize that these events are happening approximately 15 days to three weeks ahead of the typical schedule.
He mentioned that 7,000 wildfires have been documented since the beginning of the season, resulting in 8,700 hectares being burned.
The severity and quick start of the wildfires will demand "a significant amount of resilience" from both officials and fire personnel, the prime minister noted.
The biggest fire ever documented began on Wednesday in the regions of Aude and Hérault, continued to spread due to strong winds, and has already burned approximately 900 hectares.
A pair of fire fighters has sustained slight injuries, according to Pierre Regnault de La Mothe, the highest-ranking local authority in the southern department of Pyrénées-Orientales.
The prefect stated, 'We are activating an extensive volunteer network,' after sending 200 firefighters and four aerial water-dropping planes to combat the fires.
Certain political figures from France have criticized what they describe as insufficient actions taken by the authorities to address increasing heat levels, with the Green party submitting a vote of no confidence against the government on Thursday.
This week, it was disclosed that the heatwave, which affected large parts of Europe, resulted in over 1,300 deaths, as funeral homes in France became fully occupied.
The current heatwave represents the worst on record in Europe, with experts from the World Weather Attribution team stating that such extreme temperatures at this time of year would have been "almost unimaginable" without the influence of climate change.
Numerous all-time high-temperature records have been surpassed in Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, along with record-breaking temperatures for the month of June in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
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