WILDFIRE RAGES NEAR PARIS – The region is enduring its third heatwave of the summer 

A wildfire tore through a historic forest near Paris on Monday, forcing highway closures and ​mobilising water-bombing aircraft, while Spain’s death toll from one of its deadliest wildfires rose to 13, as much of western Europe simmered in a string of ‌heatwaves.

The region is enduring its third heatwave of the summer, with tinder-dry vegetation and high temperatures fuelling blazes from the Iberian Peninsula to France. 

France deployed hundreds of firefighters to tackle a fast-moving blaze that broke out alongside a motorway near Fontainebleau, home to one of France’s best-known royal palaces.

French authorities say an estimated 32,000 hectares of land – roughly the size of Orlando, Florida – have burned so far this year, more than in ‌the whole ⁠of 2025.

Some 26 million people in France were under a red heatwave warning on Monday, including the greater Paris region. Forecasters say the heatwave is expected to continue until the middle of the week.

A new heatwave, expected to last at least a week, is about to hit neighbouring Italy.