EU countries help France put out forest fires
The European Commission announced today, Thursday, that firefighters and aircraft from various countries of the European Union will help France extinguish a wildfire raging on the country's Atlantic coast.
Firefighters from Germany, Greece, Poland, Austria and Romania are expected to help their French counterparts after Paris requested help from the European Union to fight the southern Bordeaux fire, which erupted again a week after it was initially brought under control.
France will receive four firefighting planes currently stationed in Greece and Sweden.
On Thursday, local authorities in Bordeaux said that about 1,100 emergency workers were battling the fires, while 10,000 people had to leave their homes.
The flames destroyed more than 6,800 thousand hectares of land.
Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne thanked the firefighters today during a visit to southern Bordeaux, and said France must prepare itself to be able to better fight the fires exacerbated by climate change in the future.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his thanks via Twitter, and said that ten thousand firefighters and civil protection in France are currently battling fires across the country.
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