Emmanuel Macron visits wildfires-hit area of Southwestern France

French President Emmanuel Macron visited the country's worst-hit Gironde region in the southwest on Wednesday, meeting with firefighters who have been battling the flames for a week.

Two massive fires feeding on tinder-dry pine forests also have forced tens of thousands of people to flee homes and summer vacation spots since they broke out July 12.

French firefighters created huge firebreaks through threatened forests, using heavy machinery to tear out trees and roots, leaving large barren strips to stop the fires.

"This is probably the fifth or sixth largest fire we've had to deal with in terms of the two areas that have been affected and the number of people as that have been evacuated - 36,000 people evacuated," said Macron during a visit to thank firefighters in the region.

“You have saved lives,” Macron said, shaking hands with a group of firefighters lined up at the regional fire department.

The leader of the Gironde fire brigade, Marc Vermeulen, briefed the president on their formidable efforts to contain the blaze.

The Gironde fires have burned 206 square kilometers (80 square miles) of forests, authorities say.

Wildfires in France so far this year have consumed 25% more land compared with the same period last year, the government said Wednesday as it announced that is requisitioning two civilian helicopters to help tackle the blazes.

Fires were burning across southern Europe on Wednesday, but authorities in France, Spain and Portugal all reported improved conditions with a respite from the severe heat.