Paris, July 26 (QNA) - French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced Sunday that 2,500 firefighters and 1,500 military personnel have been mobilized to battle wildfires in southwestern France.

 He stressed that the situation there remains "highly unfavorable", particularly in the Gironde department, where the fires have burned 42,000 hectares and forced nearly 220,000 people to evacuate their homes.

In a post on X, Nunez said the situation also remains concerning in the Landes and Var departments, noting that the fire in Gironde became "extremely virulent” and unpredictable, generating its own wind and spreading erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area.

He added that operations in Gironde involve 2,500 firefighters, including a Swiss firefighting team, in addition to 1,500 military personnel, while nearly 550 firefighters are mobilized in the Landes department.

The heatwave and drought that have gripped large swaths of France in recent weeks have fueled the rapid spread of wildfires, underscoring worrisome developments as authorities scramble to confront the increasingly challenging climatic conditions. (QNA)