Fifty-three homes have also been destroyed, Nunez told television network TF1, giving tolls counted since Wednesday, when the fires in the Gironde and Landes regions became broad emergencies.

He called the situation "completely unprecedented", adding that the country had never before seen this type of fire on this scale.

Nunez also pledged that French authorities would "do everything to protect" the city of Bordeaux, near to which two major fires were raging.