George and Amal Clooney evacuate Brignoles home as wildfires force 224,000 evacuations in France

Evacuation

George and Amal Clooney evacuated their home in Brignoles, in France's Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, on 30 July 2026, as wildfires swept across southern Europe. The couple left with their nine-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella. The family's 425-acre estate, which includes an 18th-century mansion, pool, tennis court, and ornamental lake, was purchased for a reported $8.3 million (€7.9 million) in 2021. A representative confirmed the evacuation to People magazine.

Letter to the mayor

The Clooneys informed Brignoles mayor Didier Brémond of their departure in a letter.

At this point we have no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this terrible moment. As we evacuate Brignoles we want to emphasize two things, first we hope you and the people of our city are safe and second that Amal and I are committed to making sure that whatever happens to our village, we are part of this community and we'll be part of making it whole. We love Brignoles and our friends who live there.

Why France

The family made France their primary residence in 2025 and received French citizenship in December of that year. In an October 2025 interview with Esquire, George Clooney explained his decision to raise his children outside Los Angeles.

I was worried about raising our kids in L.A., in the culture of Hollywood. I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life. France -- they kind of don't give a shit about fame. I don't want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don't want them being compared to somebody else's famous kids.

Wildfire crisis

A prolonged heatwave, combined with tinder-dry vegetation, low humidity, and strong winds, has fuelled fires across France, Spain, Italy, and Greece. In France, about 224,000 people were evacuated from the Gironde region in the south-west, and a further 3,000 from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, according to CNN. The largest blaze, burning near Bordeaux, has scorched more than 42,000 hectares, an area roughly four times the size of Paris. Officials warned that high temperatures and shifting winds continue to pose a risk of fresh flare-ups, even as some containment progress has been made. Spain has evacuated approximately 63,000 people, with 10,000 still displaced in Castellón, while new fires have broken out in Zamora. In Greece, three firefighters died while tackling separate blazes on Crete and the mainland, though one report cited two deaths.

Macron's warning

French president Emmanuel Macron addressed the severity of the fires, describing the situation as the worst since the Second World War.

We must understand that we are facing a completely unprecedented wildfire. The situation we are dealing with today is the most severe we have ever recorded, the toughest since the Second World War. More than 160,000 hectares have already burned, and the season is far from over.