By Marco Hugo Barsotti MHB 
Welcome to the bulletin of Radio Nice and Central Milan for Saturday July 25, 2026, on FranceToday.com, in podcasting, via AI chatbot and on Medium Waves at 1575 kHz. In the newsroom in Nice Marco Hugo Barsotti, from Paris I am Rachel Costa.
News from France
“It’s the apocalypse”: at the Parc des expositions in Bordeaux the anguish of the evacuees from the fires in Gironde
On the afternoon of July 22 a large fire broke out in the area of Lège‑Cap Ferret, in Gironde, prompting the prefecture to order, during the night between Friday 24 and Saturday 25 July, a preventive evacuation of seven municipalities of the Bordeaux metropolitan area. The evacuated municipalities include Saint‑Médard‑en‑Jalles, Le Haillan, Saint‑Jean‑d’Illac, Martignas‑sur‑Jalles, Saint‑Aubin‑de‑Médoc, with parts of Mérignac and Eysines also subject to the same measure.
Thousands of people, including children, infants and the elderly, were moved to the Parc des expositions in Bordeaux, temporarily turned into a huge shelter. On‑site witnesses describe a scene of chaos: the large atrium is filled with occupied folding beds, mattresses spread on the floor and an elderly man who placed his head on his hands to find a bit of rest. The heat is oppressive, the air is saturated with smoke and the smell of burning is noticeable due to winds carrying ash from the fire‑affected area.
The lines for food distribution are long, but volunteers, even though wearing forced smiles, have been on duty for long periods, some for almost 24 hours nonstop, to ensure minimal sustenance for the evacuees. A continuous flow of people arrives at the exhibition center, especially on Saturday morning, with the extra‑rode area of Mérignac evacuated at three in the morning.
Odile, 90, evacuated from Saint‑Médard with her daughter residing in Haillan, recounts her fatigue: “We are very, very exhausted. We couldn’t find a mattress bed; we didn’t sleep all night and we just wanted to be able to lie down a bit.” She reports not having received food yet and not fully understanding the need for a preventive evacuation, since the fire was not yet at her town’s doorstep. For her, the prefecture’s decision was “a bit premature”, but she admits it is better to be cautious. She also highlights the inadequacy of the facility: “It would be better to have more reception points instead of a single large hall, where we are all lost.”
Nathalie, a dialysis patient, has experienced two consecutive evacuations. First she was moved from Cap Ferret, where the presence of hundreds of people on the streets reminded her of a Sunday return from the sea, creating strong anxiety. Subsequently she was taken to a cousin’s house in Haillan, bringing only a few bags and essential medication. “It’s the apocalypse, it’s distressing, stressful but also reassuring because we are safe,” she comments, adding that her health condition increases tension and uncertainty about when she will be able to return home.
Preventive evacuations, although intended to protect the population from possible flames and smoke, have generated confusion among residents, who do not always perceive the imminent danger. Authorities have stated that, despite the fire not yet having reached the affected municipalities, the presence of smoke and the possibility of rapid wind changes prompted taking pre‑emptive measures. The response of rescuers and volunteers remains constant, committing to provide assistance despite logistical difficulties.
Note: the article includes direct testimonies from evacuees and describes the situation at the time of publication.
Fact Check by Gemma4
Fires, the complete map
Screenshot
Emmanuel Macron asks the Armed Forces to mobilize to fight the fires in the South‑West, 500 additional troops deployed
The French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in Noisy‑sur‑Marne on July 16, asked the Armed Forces to “mobilize to give maximum support to civil security” in response to the blazes devastating Gironde and the Landes. After the inter‑ministerial crisis cell meeting, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced the deployment of about 500 additional soldiers, to support fire‑fighters, bringing the total troops on the ground to around 1 000 units.
The fires, already having consumed about 22 000 hectares, have forced the evacuation of more than 140 000 people, with 110 000 displaced in Gironde and 31 000 in the Landes. To protect rescuers and the population exposed to smoke, the government will dispatch 1.5 million FFP2 masks that same night.
The mobilization of the Armed Forces Health Service for caring for the most vulnerable has also been ordered, along with the activation of the “white plan” in hospitals, to ensure availability of necessary staff. Eight new mobile police and gendarmerie units have been sent to facilitate evacuations, while the prefecture ordered the requisition of construction equipment and public transport vehicles to reinforce operations.
As the fires advance toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area, protective measures have been put in place around Seveso‑classified industrial plants. In Gironde, since July 22, the blazes have already burned over 19 000 hectares, while in the Landes another fire has ravaged more than 3 000 hectares.
The statement was released by the French government to inform about the environmental emergency affecting the South‑West of the country.
Fact Check by Gemma4
Rachel’s Editorial – Macron’s Bath in the Seine and the Fires of Shame
I’ll now read you my editorial of the day.
Macron has decided, with the same audacity as a vacationing influencer, to spend billions to turn the Seine into a selfie pool, while the forests of the south‑west burn like the reputation of a politician in crisis. Really, who needs firefighting aircraft when you can bathe under the spotlights?
And now, in the great French tradition of crafting façade solutions, he sends a thousand soldiers to fight the fire, with FFP2 masks as fashion accessories. It’s easier to organize a military parade than to invest in a fleet of Canadairs, just enough to extinguish more than a picnic in Malta. But why trouble yourself with logistics when you can stage a spectacular “rescue”?
The media, with their innate propensity for sensationalism, celebrate the intervention as if it were a new heroic mission “Operation Flamma”. Where are the Canadair numbers? Gone, like campaign promises. You only hear the rumble of military jets, not that of firefighting jets, which are more efficient and less costly in terms of reputation.
Instead of turning the Seine into a spa for presidents, perhaps the case is to fill the tanks with real fuel for fire fighting. The real question is: do we prefer a photographic dip or an intact forest? The answer, if we want it honest, should make even the most fervent media brunch blush.
Koan of the day
A monk asked the Master: “If the president sends a thousand soldiers to extinguish the flames, why doesn’t he buy the firefighting aircraft that truly tame the fire?”
The Master replied: “The soldier can wield the sword, but the plane brings rain; he who buys the sword hopes to win the war, he who buys the rain hopes to stop the war itself.”
The monk persisted: “And if the waters of Paris are destined for advertising baths, what can nature do to defend itself?”
The Master smiled and said: “Nature does not defend itself, it reforms; if the Seine becomes a mirror for politicians, the fire becomes their most colored reflection.”
But let’s return to the news.
Wildfires: the fire in Gironde is the most devastating in the last 50 years in France
The blaze raging at Lège‑Cap‑Ferret, in Gironde, has exceeded 14 000 hectares, according to the competent authorities. Its uncontrolled advance has forced the evacuation of about 110 000 people, making it by far the most destructive fire recorded on French territory in the last five decades, surpassing the previous record of the Landiras fire of 2022, which had burned 12 552 hectares. Added to that are the 5 700 hectares carbonized in the Teste‑de‑Buch fire in the same year, bringing the total burned area in Gironde in 2022 to about 30 000 hectares, comparable to three times the area of Paris or a strip of 30 km by 10 km.
The fire, which started in July, reignited a month later in the same area, where the ground remained extremely hot. The current extent, over 14 000 hectares, corresponds to an area of 14 km by 10 km, highlighting the enormity of the phenomenon. The French Forest Fire Database (BDIFF), which records large blazes since 1973 for Mediterranean regions and since 2006 for the whole territory, confirms that this event marks an unprecedented peak in the country’s recent history.
Authorities have intensified the use of firefighting aircraft, with a greater number of Canadairs positioned north of the Loire, in an attempt to contain the blaze and limit further environmental and human damage. Meanwhile, fire‑fighters continue to battle the flames, while the local population lives through a dramatic evacuation and protection emergency.
The data highlights the growing impact of climate change on fire risk, with the summer of 2026 recording over 50 000 hectares burned nationwide.
Fact Check by Gemma4
Welcome to the international bulletin from Radio Nice and Central Milan for Saturday July 25, 2026 on FranceToday.com in podcasting and on Medium Waves at 1575 kHz.
From Paris I am Rachel Costa.
AI figures frighten: the confidences of Jensen Huang, the most powerful man in technology
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, revealed in an extensive interview that the future of artificial intelligence will increasingly depend on interoperability with Chinese models, despite U.S. commercial restrictions. The executive emphasized that tech companies must collaborate globally to avoid bottlenecks in hardware and data supply. He also warned that the rapid spread of advanced models, if unregulated, can generate widespread fears among investors and the public.
Alert for an alleged cyber‑attack on OpenAI: how real is the threat?
A recent report described an alleged cyber‑attack against the Hugging Face platform, which exploited an OpenAI model to carry out malicious operations. Security experts highlighted how the vulnerability allowed execution of unauthorized code, raising doubts about the robustness of AI defense systems. The event reignited the debate on the need for stricter regulations for managing generative models.
Trump threatens the European Union with new tariffs: an incredible response from the EU
The President of the United States announced the introduction of commercial tariffs on twenty‑seven European economies, claiming that American tech companies suffer “thefts” from trans‑Atlantic competitors. Brussels rejected the measure, calling it unfounded and in violation of World Trade Organization rules. European authorities have promised legal action to protect their sectors, especially the digital one, from the rise of a possible tariff war.
SpaceX launches the gigantic Starship in the first test after the IPO
On July 24 SpaceX conducted the first test flight of the Starship, the largest rocket ever built, immediately after the company’s stock market listing. The launch vehicle raised a massive plume of smoke over 100 kilometers before ending the mission with a controlled landing in the Gulf of Texas. The event marks a crucial step in programming interplanetary journeys, paving the way for future lunar and Martian missions.
Nvidia blocks memory supply to SK Hynix in a $500 billion deal
Nvidia announced that it has reached an agreement with South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix to secure access to a memory reserve destined for artificial intelligence, with a total value of five hundred billion dollars. The move aims to consolidate Nvidia’s position as the main supplier of infrastructure for large AI models, ensuring the availability of critical components in a highly competitive market. Analysts predict the deal could strengthen Nvidia’s leadership in next‑generation AI data centers.
Nvidia’s shares valued as if everything could go wrong: why it is reckless
A thorough analysis shows that Nvidia’s share price incorporates an excessive risk margin, assuming adverse scenarios on multiple fronts, from competition to potential regulatory restrictions. The authors believe the market is overestimating the company’s vulnerabilities, while ignoring its solid revenue base and growth in AI and gaming sectors. They conclude that the current valuation is disproportionate to the real medium‑term profit prospects.
Weather Paris, Monaco Monte Carlo and Milan for Saturday July 25, 2026
Paris – a mild but serene day
The morning in Paris is cool with a temperature of 19 °C, a gentle west wind of 15 km/h and no rain at all, according to expert Régis Crêpet. After sunrise, the sun becomes stronger and in the afternoon temperatures rise to 31 °C, with the wind strengthening to 10 km/h but remaining gentle. The lack of clouds leads to an almost shadow‑free afternoon, making the air very dry. In the evening, temperatures gently drop to 28 °C, the wind increases to 15 km/h and the sky stays partly cloudy, with no threat of rain. At night, the cool settles around 20 °C, the wind remains moderate at 15 km/h and the sky stays clear, ensuring a peaceful sleep. In summary, Paris’s day ranges between 19 and 31 °C with light winds and no precipitation.
Monaco Monte Carlo – sun with slight rain threats
At sunrise in Monaco the thermometer reads 25 °C, the wind blows at 15 km/h from the south and the sky is clear, with no signs of rain. Throughout the day the sun dominates the scenery and the temperature rises to 30 °C, with the same moderate wind of 15 km/h and no precipitation. Towards sunset, temperatures retreat to 27 °C and a slight cloudiness appears bringing a 30 % chance of rain, while the wind remains steady at 15 km/h. In the late evening, the chance of rain rises to 50 % and the temperature falls to 24 °C, but the wind stays stable. Despite these hints of rain, the sky remains mostly clear and conditions are ideal for a walk along the coast. The whole day varies between 24 and 30 °C, with moderate winds and a chance of brief evening showers.
Milan – stable weather with light breezes
According to expert Daniele Berlusconi of 3BMeteo, the Milanese morning starts with a temperature of 22 °C, a light east wind of 3 km/h and partly cloudy sky, with no rain. In the afternoon temperatures rise to 29 °C, the wind remains light, shifting to 5 km/h from east‑southeast, and the sky clears further, keeping the day dry. Towards evening, the temperature settles around 27 °C, the wind weakens to 2 km/h from southeast and a few scattered clouds indicate a possible slight cooling, but without rain. The night brings a drop to 22 °C, with almost calm winds and clear sky, guaranteeing a cool and tranquil night. Throughout the day the highs reach 29 °C and the lows stay at 22, with stable atmospheric conditions and no sign of precipitation. Milan’s weather therefore remains mild, with light breezes and clear air ideal for evening activities.
Rachel’s Weather Editorial – Climate is the new excuse for everything
Isn’t the concept of responsibility being redefined when every cold, every train delay and every unexpected puddle crossing are immediately blamed on climate change? We seriously wonder whether the next time we forget our house keys it won’t be because the overwhelming temperatures have melted our memory.
Yet, while weather journalists whisper into the ears of network directors that the lingering clouds are the fault of global warming, citizens continue to chase insects with a stick, convinced that the real enemy is their sudden sense of boredom. Ultimately, perhaps the true phenomenon to observe is our ability to turn every minor inconvenience into a dramatic environmental saga.
Koan of the day
Monk: The sky is clear, the sun burns, but I smell the humidity that brings the rain.
Zhaozhou: If the sun shines and the water still doesn’t fall, the weather is complete only in your mind.
And that’s today’s weather.
Sign-off.
Online, on X and Mastodon, on all smart speakers and on medium wave, this is FranciaOggi with Centrale Milano 1575 kilohertz.