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Élisabeth Borne, French Prime Minister, addresses a 'battalion' of firefighters almost in military formation, in Hostens.

She shakes his hands, she listens to her stories... 1,100 troops are waging a 'war' nearby against the raging fire that is consuming southwestern France.

At least 10,000 residents have been evacuated and 7,400 hectares devastated.

Such is the gravity, that European solidarity has been launched to win this fight.

Borne's scene at the 'front' corresponds to Thursday.

Even the department of Gironde - which, together with the Landes, is experiencing difficult days due to the active fire - the French 'premier' and the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, traveled.

But it is not the only focus in France that the brigades are combating.

The Gauls are suffering one of the worst waves of fires in their history and the natural disaster has already reached 50,000 hectares burned.

As in any tragedy, the testimonies are heartbreaking.

"He's an ogre, he's a monster,

" Gregory Allione, of the FNSPF fire department, told RTL radio.

A description so shocking that it was replicated by several international media, including the British

The Guardian

and the

BBC.

"You'd think you're in California, it's gigantic,"

Rémy Lahlay, a firefighter with two decades of experience, told Agence France-Presse, referring to the fire ravaging the US state.

There the Yosemite National Park, characteristic for its enormous redwoods, is threatened.

What hurts the most to hear in these cases is what the French Prime Minister declared, according to

Le Figaro:

"Given the brutality, we can suspect an intervention of criminal origin."

A fear that resonates in Spain, where investigations have been carried out along these lines this summer.

More specific was Darmanin, who pointed out that nine out of 10 fire starts have a human origin.

"The soldiers of the fire are our heroes

," said President Emmanuel Macron from his Twitter account.

The French leader recalled in the same message that throughout the territory there are "more than 10,000 firefighters and civil security personnel mobilized against the flames", since the one in Gironde is not the only one that

burns

our neighbors.

In the face of this adversity, European solidarity shone again.

Macron announced that Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania and Austria offered reinforcements.

In addition, the European Commission coordinated the shipment of four aircraft from Greece and Sweden.

And, in the background, the other heroes.

Citizens who try to protect their properties while 'fighting' against the baptized 'ogre' that gobbles up their land.

Around 10,000 people have been evacuated due to the Gironde fire - some for the second time this summer, since a month ago the area experienced the ravages of another fire - and, according to the BFMTV network, towns such as Belin-Béliet (2,000 inhabitants) They have become ghost towns.

Neighbors like Allisson Fayol and his father resist in the vicinity of Hostens.

"There's still a lot of smoke, but for now it's not coming through here

," Fayol was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Firefighters managed to contain this Friday the advance of the flames in Gironde, which facilitated circulation at the Irún border crossing, which

registered kilometric traffic jams on Thursday and Friday.

The French Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, with the firefighters during her visit to Hostens.AFP

In the background... climate change.

If the world had just suffered the blows of the coronavirus pandemic and is still dealing with the ravages of the war in Ukraine -which is leading us into an uncertain autumn-, the heat wave has complicated the long-awaited 'summer of freedom' for many after the countless 'attacks' of the virus that changed the planet as we knew it.

That's why it's early to claim victory in Gironde, as the high temperatures can play tricks.

For this Friday, another heat spike was expected in France.

Temperatures that are one more 'spark' for fires throughout Europe.

In the United Kingdom, the asphalt at Luton airport has melted.

Germany, Portugal and the aforementioned Spain have also had to deal with the flames in this summer period.

Once the fires are extinguished, or at least controlled, there is another concern that is making its way among French farmers: drought (a problem that plagues Spanish territory).

The scarcity of rains makes them presage a strong impact on the crops.

In Germany there are already warnings about the Rhine river:

"We have 30 centimeters less water

," said captain Andre Kimpel on the BBC.

In France, more than 40,000 hectares have been burned this year, according to France-Presse, mentioning the authorities.

Raised to 50,000 by satellite measurements.

Figures that multiply the annual average of the previous 15 years

.

It is not strange that the 'premier' Borne took the opportunity to promise urgent measures against the new 'enemy' on the horizon.

"We must continue more than ever in the fight against climate change and, within the framework of Ecological Planning, for which I am responsible, in adaptation to climate change", she concluded from 'ground zero'.

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