Tens of thousands of residents and tourists have been evacuated from holiday destinations in southern France as wildfires continue to spread across the region.
The emergency response has intensified around Bordeaux, where authorities are managing large-scale displacement amid deteriorating conditions.
In Italy, investigators are probing allegations that individuals deliberately spread fires using cats.
Authorities have described the suspects as acting with malice, adding a criminal dimension to the environmental disaster that has gripped the Mediterranean basin.
The escalation in southern Europe follows a period of relative calm in energy markets, where Brent crude had retreated to pre-war lows as shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz normalized. While the current wildfires are primarily a humanitarian and environmental crisis, the potential for supply chain disruptions in the tourism and agricultural sectors remains a concern for regional economic stability.
The situation highlights the ongoing vulnerability of southern European infrastructure to extreme weather events.