Firefighters battle Fontainebleau forest fire near Paris

Firefighters battled through the night to tackle a blaze that tore through a historic forest near Paris on Tuesday, with ​at least two people arrested on suspicion of having started ‌the fire near one of France's best-known royal palaces.

"It is not under control," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said late on Monday, adding that the main blaze ​in Fontainebleau and another one nearby that started on Monday afternoon ​had scorched 1,300 hectares (3,212 acres).

Nunez said the fire was ⁠just a few kilometres away from the Palace of Fontainebleau, which ​explained the deployment of considerable resources, including water-carrying planes and helicopters.

For the ​first time, Canadair aircraft on Monday skimmed the River Seine to fill their tanks, attempting to contain a blaze that turned the sky black.

Just 70 km ​from Paris, the fire forced the closure of the A6 highway ​linking the capital with Lyon and the south.

Smaller fires in the area also ‌disrupted ⁠high-speed train services.

As many as 900 people were evacuated from their homes.

Nunez said the Fontainebleau blaze is contributing to what will likely be a historic year for fires in France, with 32,000 hectares burned already ​this year, more ​than the total ⁠in 2025.

"We'll probably have a record year," he said. "We expected this with this major drought."

Europe is enduring ​its third heatwave of the summer, with tinder-dry vegetation ​and high ⁠temperatures fuelling blazes from the Iberian Peninsula to France. Many scientists say climate change is making wildfires more frequent and difficult to combat.

Nunez said ⁠59 ​people have been arrested across France on ​suspicion of starting fires across the country.

Around half were adults and half minors, with ​some repeat offenders, he said.


-Reuters