France and Spain race to control wildfires as Bordeaux suburbs evacuated – live

<p>Meanwhile in the UK, a blaze in Cairngorms national park is described as ‘very serious’ by Scotland’s first minister</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/08/tell-us-have-you-been-affected-by-the-wildfires-in-southern-europe">Tell us: have you been affected by wildfires in Europe?</a></p></li></ul><p>The French prime minister, <strong>Sébastien Lecornu,</strong> has requested the armed forces to deploy an Airbus A400M military transport aircraft earlier than originally planned to help tackle the major wildfires in Gironde, according to Le Monde.</p><p>The French newspaper reported the aircraft’s use was not originally expected until the end of the month due to the technical preparations and tests required beforehand.</p><p>While the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/23/people-evacuated-intense-wildfire-saumos-france">fires raging across forests</a> in France are a dramatic reminder of three successive heatwaves in as many months,<em> </em>the state of the country’s rivers provides another, no less worrying insight into the impact of extreme heat supercharged by the climate crisis.</p><p>The Loire, France’s longest river, is at a historical low, with the flow of some branches, including through the city of Orléans, reduced to a trickle between sandbanks. Two weeks ago, 16% of French rivers were reported to have dried up. A quarter of small streams were stagnant or had disappeared altogether, according to the national low water observatory. There has been little rain since.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jul/25/france-spain-wildfires-latest-news-updates-madrid-cap-ferret-bordeaux-gironde">Continue reading...</a>