French President Emmanuel Macron visited a fire coordination centre in southwest France on Monday, praising firefighters for halting the advance of a huge wildfire and pledging continued support, saying "We will win this battle together." He described the blaze, which has forced 220,000 people to flee since last week, as an "unprecedented fire" and France's worst fire-related crisis since the Second World War, while warning that the fight is far from over as forests remain tinder-dry and hot weather looms again.

Thousands of firefighters and aircraft dropping water and retardant worked to contain the fire, which had burned an area four times the size of Paris and came within 15 kilometres of Bordeaux before crews using earth movers cut firebreaks to halt its spread. Forecasts of temperatures above 35C from Tuesday raised fears of renewed flare-ups, and authorities discouraged tourists from visiting the Gironde region and banned holiday camps for children and disabled people ahead of the peak August season. Around a dozen countries have sent aid to France and neighbouring Spain, where separate wildfires near Madrid have also raged; together the fires have displaced more than 330,000 people.