After more than a month of continuous rainfall, soils have reached saturation levels not seen since 1959, according to government officials.
The crisis has been described as “extraordinary” by experts. Speaking during a visit to the hard-hit Gironde department, Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut emphasised the unprecedented scale of the event. A total of 77 departments have been placed under red, orange, or yellow flood vigilance — an extent she characterised as “never seen before.”
