About 110 people were injured in a fast-moving wildfire that has reached the outer edge of France's second largest city, Marseille.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said there were about 800 firefighters on site and efforts to resolve the fire will continue to “all night” as the fire has not been curbed.
The city’s mayor Benoît Payan said earlier that “the marine firefighter battalion is launching guerrilla warfare with hand-held hoses,” referring to Marseille fire and rescue services.
According to French media reports, at least 400 people have been evacuated from their homes. Nine firefighters are said to be injured.
Residents have been warned to stay indoors and urged not to evacuate unless directed so that the road to emergency vehicles is clear.
French broadcaster BFMTV said at its peak, the fire spread at a rate of 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) per minute. He accused the combination of wind gusts, dense vegetation and steep hillsides.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is a state-owned visit to the UK, expressed his support for firefighters and called on residents to comply with safety instructions.
“Our ideas have something to do with injuries and all residents,” he wrote on X.
Interior Minister Retailleau arrived in Marseille Tuesday night, where he met with local officials.
Marseille Provence Airport said it will partially reopen at 21:30 local time (GMT) after closing for many hours starting at noon Tuesday. Airport president Julien Coffinier said he “never experienced a situation of this scale.”
A large amount of smoke rises above France's second largest city [Getty Images]
The fire was said to have erupted earlier on Tuesday near Pennes-Mirabeau in northern Marseille and is said to have covered about 700 hectares (7 square kilometers).
Local authorities say the fire was caused by cars caught on the highway.
“It's very amazing – the end of the world,” Monique Baillard, a resident of the town, told Reuters news agency. She said many neighbors have left.
The footage shows a lot of smoke above Marseille as fire broke out in the hilly areas of its north.
According to BFMTV data, no rainfall has been recorded in the Bouches-Du-Rhône area since May 19.
A police officer tries to put out a fire in a car near Marseille [Getty Images]
Elsewhere in France, another wildfire that began Monday near Namborne is still active, emitting 60 km/h winds (40mph). Local officials said about 2,000 hectares of land were burned.
In other parts of Europe, including Catalonia in northeast Spain, more than 18,000 people were ordered to stay at home on Tuesday due to wildfires in eastern Tarragona.
The emergency forces deployed overnight flames with 300 firefighters, which have spread over nearly 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of land.
Several other parts of Spain – the hottest June on record – are highly alert to wildfires.
In Greece, about 41 wildfires broke out across the country on Monday. According to the fire department, 34 of them were included on Monday night, while seven were still active.
Much of Western and Southern Europe has been hit by hot early summer heat waves, triggering fires that evacuated thousands of people from their homes.
