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Wildfire in Southwest France Threatens Tour de France Stage Finish

Officials must decide by the end of Sunday whether to cancel or reroute Monday's stage because the blaze has drawn a major firefighting response.

A firefighter works to battle wildfire near the A9 motorway near Beziers, France, July 3, 2026. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor
Fires have ravaged the area

Overview

  • The southwest France fire, which expanded to more than 1,500 hectares on Sunday, has an 18-kilometre front and sits about 60 kilometres from the planned finish in Les Angles.
  • Authorities have deployed roughly 750 firefighters, 200 vehicles and nine water-bombing aircraft to fight the blaze as crews try to stop its spread toward the Tet river and the Aspres mountains.
  • Race organisers face an imminent choice on the third stage and say the route could be adapted if needed, while officials have asked fans to stay away from the final 40 kilometres for safety.
  • No deaths have been reported so far, but one firefighter and one resident are in critical condition and local services are stretched by multiple simultaneous blazes.
  • Separately, Catalonia's Les Gavarres fire has been stabilised after burning about 2,200 hectares and a worker has been arrested on suspicion of accidentally starting that blaze, while Meteo France lists seven southern departments at very high fire risk.