Macron vows to rebuild after “one of biggest wildfires in French history”

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday promised to quickly rebuild from the ashes of the wildfires ravaging in the country's southwest, as he visited a town that has been the epicentre of one of the blazes.

Firefighters in the southwest Gironde department have been battling since July 12 to tame the flames, which have so far ravaged nearly 20,600 hectares of land, the local prefecture said on Wednesday. Nearly 37,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

Speaking at La Teste-de-Buch, west of Bordeaux, Macron said the fire was "one of the biggest in French history" and congratulated firefighters and locals for their greatest achievement - not one casualty has so far been reported.

He said he hoped the fire would soon be declared under control, but warned that the situation could take weeks to stabilize.

The blazes around the dunes has already burnt 7,000 hectares, raging along the Atlantic Coast in the Arcachon Bay area, and the figure is only expected to rise.

The Bordeaux Public Prosecutor said in a statement that a man was in police custody in connection with a probe into the bigger Landiras fire, also in the Gironde department, where 13,600 hectares have been scorched.

Macron pledged to step up the fight against climate change, saying that the shift in climate is leading to more wildfires and will force France and the European Union to take "structural decisions."

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