Fires rage in France as heatwave persists

French commandant Stephanie Martin welcomed their support in an area that already battled a massive fire for weeks last month

Firefighters from across Europe came to France's rescue on Friday to battle a massive wildfire, while fire also raged in Portugal and parts of England faced a severe drought, as successive heatwaves renewed the focus on climate change risks.

Qazet.az reports that much of Europe has faced weeks of baking temperatures that have also depleted water levels of the Rhine River in Germany and seen the source of Britain's River Thames dry up further downstream than in previous years.

High temperatures and a worsening drought brought a high risk of new fires breaking out in Gironde, in southwestern France, local officials said, even after an overnight reprieve held in check the wildfire that has been burning for days, scorched thousands of hectares and displaced 10,000 people.

Firefighters from Germany, Romania, Greece and beyond were on the ground to help France battle the fire in the region - home to Bordeaux wine - as well as on other fronts, including in Brittany in the northwest.

"It doesn't matter the country, we are firefighters and we are there to help," said chief Romanian firefighter Cristian Buhaianu, in Gironde.