A “fast-moving” wildfire in France has been raging in parts of Marseille, triggering mass evacuations, lockdown orders and widespread travel disruptions.
France’s interior minister Bruno Retailleau has warned that the country was heading into a “high-risk summer”, regarding the weather.
According to the minister, what was happening around Marseille, where blazes broke out on July 8, was unusual.
“We had seven fires start and it’s July, so it’s very early,” he said.
By July 9, authorities reported that the flames were beginning to subside, although the situation remained unstable.
The authorities in Marseille stated the wildfire that swept through the city’s northern districts had damaged 70 homes, 10 of which were completely destroyed.
Dramatic images from national meteorological service Méteo France showed thick plumes of smoke rising over Marseille as the fire spread rapidly.
The blaze, which has already damaged 700 hectares of land, was visible from space.
On July 9, Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan announced the lifting of the lockdown in the 16th arrondissement, allowing some 15,000 residents to return to normal movement.
“With the fire in northern Marseille now clearly under control, we can announce this morning that the 16th arrondissement is no longer under lockdown,” Payan wrote on the social media platform X.
“I call on all Marseille residents to exercise the utmost caution in the area, as emergency services are still hard at work,” he added.
Marseille-Provence Airport was shut down on July 8 and remained closed to commercial flights to allow priority airspace access for firefighting aircraft.
Road traffic was gradually resuming.
The wildfire in Marseille was not an isolated incident. In the Hérault department, in southwestern France, other blazes have also broken out.
François-Xavier Lauch, the Prefect of the Hérault department, echoing Retailleau’s concerns, warned that the fire season had begun “alarmingly early this year”.
“We’re in a period equivalent to the month of August. We’ve still got two months, two and a half months to go, so everyone really needs to be careful,” he said.
Meanwhile, across southern Europe, more wildfires have swept through northeastern Spain, the Greek island of Crete and areas around the Greek capital Athens in recent days.
