France sees record area burned by wildfires by mid-July: monitor

More than 42,000 hectares have burned in France by mid-July this year, surpassing the previous record set in 2022, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis).

Wildfires that broke out during the first two weeks of July alone burned nearly 15,000 hectares, hitting the historic Fontainebleau forest near Paris as well as southern France and Corsica.