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A quick-moving wildfire is approaching Marseille with thick smoke blocking out the sun and shutting town’s airport.
Footage shows cars with their headlights on attempting to escape France’s second biggest city out with huge flames being driven by winds of as much as 70 kilometres an hour.
Around 168 firefighters are tackling the blaze of around 30 hectares near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, north of Marseille.
For the most recent travel advice in Marseille click here.
To this point the inferno has burned greater than 10 buildings in town while nine firefighters have been injured, in keeping with news outlet France Bleu.
Meanwhile 4 gyms are prepared to stay open to accommodate any evacuated residents – these include the Vallier, Rosé Fuveau, Croix Rouge and Estaque Rabelais gyms.
People living within the sixteenth arrondissement of town have been told to ‘remain confined’ as the hearth nears the sting of town.
Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan wrote on X: ‘The violent fire declared in Pennes-Mirabeau is now on the gates of Marseille.
‘I ask all Marseillais to be extremely vigilant and to limit their movements as much as possible to make way for emergency services, particularly within the north of town.
‘Residents of the sixteenth arrondissement are requested to stay confined.’
He added that the French Navy would form a part of the response to the spread of the wildfire.
President of of the Aix-Marseille-Provence area said the hearth was began when a automobile caught fire on the side of the motorway.
He added: ‘Given the strength of the wind, it jumped the highway and from then on, it was very difficult to regulate.’
Vassal said it was ‘too early to say’ if the hearth was brought on by arson or an accident, but confirmed an investigation had been opened.
Local media report that an emergency message was sent to a whole bunch of phones in the realm after the wildfire broke out.
The message said: ‘Avoid this area. Allow the safety and emergency services to pass. Don’t block emergency numbers.’
Monique Baillard, a resident of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, described the scene as ‘very striking’ and ‘apocalyptic even’.
A spokesperson for Marseille Airport confirmed that flights had not been taking off or landing since around midday.
Some flights have been diverted to cities like Nice, Nimes and other regional airports.
It will not be yet known when the airport will reopen.
Train lines were also suspended heading north and west from Marseille because of a fireplace near the tracks, the SNCF train operator said.
A post from Meteo-France on X shows the massive scale of the wildfire from satellite imagery.
It has warned that the danger of fires stays high along the Mediterranean coast in the approaching days, and urged people to stay vigilant.
One other wildfire that began near Narbonne, in southwestern France, was still lively on Monday, fanned by winds of 60 kilometres per hour, causing around 2,000 hectares to burn.
Destructive wildfires have already caused havoc within the Mediterranean this summer.
Greater than 1,500 people were evacuated from their homes and hotels on the Greek island of Crete last week.
Evacuations were ordered at three sites outside the port of Ierapetra on the island’s south coast while 230 firefighters battled the flames.
Elsewhere in Europe, extreme heat has been deadly. A ten-year-old American girl collapsed and died during a visit to the Palace of Versailles in France last week.
Spain has also faced temperatures within the low 40s, and has also experienced wildfires in multiple places across the country.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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