French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged “zero tolerance” for arson after wildfires scorched thousands of hectares in France, including in a historic forest near Paris.
Dozens of people have been arrested across the country for starting fires deliberately or by accident as France has sweltered through multiple intense heatwaves since May that have fueled dry conditions.
Around 35,000 hectares (nearly 86,500 acres) have been impacted by fires, more than during the entire 2025 fire season, according to authorities.
France “has never faced so many outbreaks of fire across the country since the end of World War II,” Macron said during a visit to the Fontainebleau forest near Paris that has seen more than 2,000 hectares scorched since July 5.
“Here, as everywhere else in France, there will be zero tolerance” for arsonists “because it is, of course, our national territory that is under attack every time a fire breaks out,” Macron added.
Around 1,000 residents were forced to evacuate as the fires spread in the forest some 60 kilometers southeast of Paris, in a rare blaze in the country’s north.
Two workers from a construction company were charged on July 16 and placed under judicial supervision for unintentionally starting the first fire in the Fontainebleau forest, nearly a tenth of which has burned since July 12.
