France cancels fireworks, cuts museum hours amid heatwave

France has shortened opening hours at several tourist attractions and cancelled Bastille Day fireworks displays in several cities as a new heatwave sweeps across the country.

The heatwave caused a fast-moving wildfire south of Paris, Caliber.Az reports, citing French media.

It burned around 800 hectares of the Fontainebleau forest, forcing authorities to deploy firefighting aircraft and partially close the A6 motorway during one of France's busiest summer travel weekends.

French officials dispatched two water-bombing planes to the Paris region on July 12 after the blaze broke out in the sprawling Fontainebleau forest, about 60 kilometres southeast of the capital.

Described by authorities as "very virulent" and of an "exceptional scale," the fire spread rapidly through the former royal hunting grounds, which are now home to several villages and popular tourist destinations.

Around 15 homes were evacuated in the village of Vaudoue, while firefighters worked to protect several nearby communities, according to the Seine-et-Marne fire service.

Residents gathered anxiously as emergency vehicles moved through the area and many sought updates on whether their homes remained in danger.

Valerie and her husband Daniel, who were among those evacuated, recalled the moment officials ordered them to leave.

Around 400 firefighters have been mobilised to contain the blaze, which erupted just ahead of France's July 14 national holiday and the first major weekend of the summer vacation season.

The fire also disrupted transport links across the region, affecting roads and the high-speed rail route connecting Paris with southeastern France.

Eric Brocardi of France's National Federation of Firefighters noted that it was the first time water-bombing aircraft had been sent from the country's traditionally fire-prone southern regions to combat a blaze near Paris.

Two firefighting helicopters and an observation aircraft were also involved in the operation.

The Paris region, along with much of France, is currently enduring its third heatwave since May, conditions that have significantly increased wildfire risks.

The repeated heatwaves have shattered temperature records across Europe and contributed to thousands of excess deaths in countries including Belgium, Britain, France and Spain, according to estimates.

Scientists from the World Weather Attribution group concluded that June's heatwaves would have been "virtually impossible" without climate change.

France has also temporarily shut down three nuclear power plants due to extreme temperatures, while organisers of the Tour de France shortened Sunday's stage by 30 kilometres as temperatures along the route neared 40 degrees Celsius.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, who is due to visit Fontainebleau on Monday, said wildfires have already destroyed 17,000 hectares in France this year.

Once all fires are accounted for, the total area burned is expected to reach 25,000 hectares — "twice as much as the same period" in 2025, he added.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov