French President Emmanuel Macron vowed Monday “to rebuild a different kind of forest” as he visited an area ravaged by wildfires in southwest France, adding that “the coming weeks will be tough”.
The fire west of the city of Bordeaux, which has ravaged 42,000 hectares of pine forest and destroyed 240 homes since Wednesday, has waned after drizzle overnight but has not yet been contained.
Macron urged fire crews to “stay strong” as they battled Monday to bring a monster wildfire under control, warning that the fight will take time but vowing, “We will win this battle together.”
On a visit to a coordination centre for the massive firefighting effort, Macron heard how the blaze in the southwest has been wildly unpredictable, transforming at times into a self-feeding fire storm.
He praised fire crews who stopped the fire’s progression after successive days of spreading flames but cautioned that the battle isn’t yet won.
