Overview
- The fire began Sunday alongside a motorway in the Fontainebleau forest and by late Monday Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said two linked blazes had burned about 1,300 hectares and remained not under control.
- Authorities mobilised hundreds of firefighters and, for the first time in the greater Paris area, multiple Canadair water‑bombing planes that repeatedly scooped water from the River Seine to slow the spread.
- The blaze forced roughly 600 to 1,000 people to flee or shelter, closed the A6 motorway, and disrupted high‑speed train services connecting Paris with the southeast.
- Police have opened an arson probe after multiple ignition points were found within a small area and at least two people have been arrested on suspicion of starting the fires.
- Officials warn this episode is part of an unusually severe season as France endures its third heatwave, with authorities saying some 32,000 hectares have burned so far this year and national resources are under growing strain.