More than 50,000 hectares burned by wildfire this year, says French interior minister

"To date, we have exceeded the threshold of 50,000 hectares burned across France since the beginning of the year," Nunez said.

He noted that the fire, which broke out Wednesday near Saumos, north of Arcachon Bay in Gironde, has already burned more than 10,000 hectares and remains out of control.

"The fire continues to spread ... it is difficult to contain," Nunez said, calling it "the largest fire of the season."

Around 40,000 people have been evacuated because of the blaze, he added.

According to the minister, about 1,000 firefighters are deployed to battle the fire, supported by Civil Security personnel, military engineering units and helicopters.

Nunez said around 80 homes have been damaged by the fire, including about 50 that were completely destroyed.

He also said France's aerial firefighting fleet has already carried out two and a half times as many flight hours, water drops and missions as it did during the whole of last year's wildfire season.

Nunez said 330 gendarmes and six mobile gendarmerie squadrons are currently deployed in the Gironde-Landes area to assist with evacuation efforts.

The minister also confirmed that France had requested assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

He said Croatia is sending two Canadair aircraft and Portugal two Air Tractor aircraft, while the Czech Republic and Slovakia are each deploying a Black Hawk helicopter to support firefighting operations in southwestern France.

Wildfires have forced the evacuation of more than 43,000 residents and tourists across Gironde and neighboring Landes in southwestern France.

The Gironde wildfire, which broke out Wednesday near Arcachon Bay and the Cap-Ferret peninsula, had already forced the evacuation of the entire peninsula earlier Friday after advancing overnight.

Authorities also suspended navigation across Arcachon Bay to facilitate maritime evacuations.

A separate wildfire near Biscarrosse in neighboring Landes had burned more than 2,500 hectares and forced the evacuation of more than 23,000 people, including residents, campers and holidaymakers, according to local authorities.

In southeastern France, another wildfire near Cotignac in the Var department remained stable but was not yet contained. More than 950 firefighters, backed by water-bombing aircraft and a Civil Security helicopter, continued efforts to control the blaze.