On Saturday, July 25, the French government deployed a military transport plane to help fight wildfires, and AFP journalists witnessed its first firefighting mission.

The A400M military aircraft, equipped with a dispensing kit that can release 20 metric tons of water or fire retardant, flew over a forest fire in Lacanau in southwest France, leaving a vivid orange plume in its wake.

According to the government, the plane's capability represents "the equivalent of three Canadair aircraft in terms of water volume."

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had ordered the armed forces to deploy the military transport aircraft to help combat fires raging in the southwest, his office said. Its deployment had previously been scheduled for the end of the month due to preparations and testing.

Unchecked wildfires raging Saturday in France's southwest and near Spain's capital Madrid have forced nearly 260,000 people to flee.

France initially hustled 197,000 people from areas around popular vacation spot Bordeaux—one of its biggest-ever peacetime evacuations—though 3,000 were later allowed to return.

In Spain, where 60,000 people were evacuated from villages west of Madrid, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the priority was "to save lives" as he visited the fire zone.

The wildfires currently raging across France have burned nearly 98,000 hectares, Nunez said on Saturday, describing the total as a "historic record."

Lecornu has called a new government crisis meeting gathering key ministers to examine the emergency response to wildfires. It will be the second in as many days. The previous one held late Friday resulted in the despatch of more troops and the A400M plane.

Source: Le Monde