France Wildfires: Your Refund and Insurance Rights if Your Holiday Is in the Fire Zone

The Gironde coast - Arcachon, Cap Ferret, the Landes beaches south to Biscarrosse - is one of the most popular French destinations for British families, and the fires have hit in the busiest fortnight of the summer. The travel rights depend heavily on how you booked, and the differences are worth hundreds of pounds.

What has happened

• The fire began on Wednesday 22 July near Saumos, west of Bordeaux, and spread through pine forest toward Le Porge and the Cap Ferret peninsula, at times growing by up to 1,000 hectares an hour.
• The entire peninsula was ordered to evacuate on Friday morning after the fire crossed a containment line overnight; evacuation boats ran from three piers, and around 80 homes and a campsite have burned.
• A second fire near Biscarrosse has burned more than 2,500 hectares with around 23,000 evacuated; roughly 1,000 firefighters and water-bombing aircraft are deployed, and France has requested EU assistance.
• Spain, fighting fires that have burned 114,796 hectares this year against 25,133 by the same point last year, has declared a national emergency.

Your rights, by how you booked

The critical sequencing rule: do not cancel unilaterally. If you cancel before the operator or provider does, you generally convert a full-refund situation into a partial or nil one. Let the provider make the first move, keep everything in writing, and claim on insurance only for what the provider will not return.

If you are due to travel in the coming days

• Check FCDO travel advice for France and Spain before departure - insurance validity keys off it, though as of this weekend the FCDO has not advised against travel to either country generally.
• Contact your operator or accommodation before travelling to affected areas - Gironde road closures around the Bassin d’Arcachon are extensive and evacuation zones are changing daily.
• Keep receipts for any extra costs (rebooked rooms, transport out of the area) - package organisers owe assistance, and insurers typically require documentation.
• If you are already in the region, follow FR-Alert instructions and prefecture updates; registering with the local mairie’s emergency accommodation gets you documented, which helps later claims.

This article reports the situation as of 25 July 2026, which is changing quickly; check official French and FCDO updates before acting. General information, not legal or financial advice.

Frequently asked questions

Can I cancel my holiday to France because of the wildfires?

If it is a package to an affected area and the organiser cannot deliver it, yes - full refund or alternative. If your destination is unaffected and services are running, cancelling is a choice, and standard cancellation terms apply.

Will travel insurance cover wildfire cancellation?

Only some policies: look for natural catastrophe or travel disruption cover, and cancellation triggered by FCDO advice changes or uninhabitable accommodation. Disinclination to travel is almost never covered.

Is it safe to travel to Bordeaux or Arcachon now?

The FCDO has not advised against travel to France, but evacuation zones, road closures and air quality issues cover parts of the Gironde coast. Check prefecture updates and your accommodation’s status before setting out.

What if my campsite has been evacuated?

It cannot host you, so a refund or rebooking should follow from the site or your booking platform - and if refused, card chargeback or Section 75 (for credit card bookings over £100) is the fallback route.

Sources

• FCDO: France travel advice
• FCDO: Spain travel advice