Wildfire in southern France: Flames burn through area bigger than Paris
It’s not an overstatement to say that Francis Bat has lost everything. His home, its contents, his classic car collection, all lie in smoldering ruins in the village of San Lauron de La Cabaris. It’s all gone. He tells a friend on the phone. There’s nothing I can save. a sadness, an immense sadness for this legacy of my parents and my grandparents that I tried to save. But I didn’t save it. It’s gone. What more can I say? To rebuild all of this, I don’t think I can do it. When we arrived here, Msure Bat was wandering around his property in shock for lawn, surveying quite literally the ruins of his entire life. He was happy for us to be here. He said he wanted people to see the awful destruction that a fire like this can bring. He watched helpless on Tuesday night as the flames approached with terrifying speed. It’s unimaginable the speed at which it all went up in flames. It all happened in a couple of minutes. It looked like someone had poured petrol over everything. This wildfire has devoured land and property across a giant swave of southwest France, blamed squarely by the prime minister who visited this week on drought and climate change in a parched Mediterranean region. Firefighters in their thousands are putting up a tireless defense. And the country’s fiercest single fire in almost 80 years will eventually be brought under control. Too late though for Msure Bat who is not the only person to have lost everything and yet he feels he says entirely alone. Jonah Al Jazzer Southwest France. Don’t miss out and get the full picture. Subscribe to El Jazzer for reliable news and expert insights. Like, share, stay ahead.
A devastating wildfire has broken out in the southern Aude region of France, marking the country’s largest blaze in almost 80 years. The fire has destroyed at least 25 homes and scorched an area larger than the French capital, Paris. Nearly 2,000 firefighters are battling the inferno, which has already claimed one life and forced the evacuation of thousands.
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull reports from southwest France.
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