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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Jacob Phillips

Thousands of holidaymakers evacuated as wildfires hit southern France

Thousands of people were evacuated as a pair of wildfires spread across southern France.

Around 3,000 holidaymakers were forced to leave a campsite in the coastal town of Canet-en-Roussillon, near the city of Perpignan, as the fires were fueled by strong winds.

Elsewhere dozens were forced to leave their homes in the coastal town of Frontignan, near the city of Montpellier, before both blazes were brought under control.

"The fire has been under control for two and a half hours now," a spokesman for the regional firefighters, Jerome Bonnafoux, told AFP early on Monday morning.

"We're still working on it because there are several hot spots where the risk of it flaring are high," he added.

A fire engine patrols north of Frontignan one day after a fire broke out (AFP via Getty Images)

Some 600 firefighters rushed to put out the fires on Sunday, and half of them were expected to keep working throughout Monday, Mr Bonnfaoux added.

The fire in Montpellier, which has destroyed at least 300 hectares (740 acres) of land, ignited near the A9 highway leading to the Spanish border.

Firefighters emptied the swimming pools of private homeowners to tackle the blaze, the mayor's cabinet director said.

It comes as wildfires continue to ravage parts of Europe.

Huge blazes have spread across Greece killing one person and forcing locals to flee their homes.

Satellite images of East Attica revealed the scale of the devastation last week, as swirling winds hampered efforts of hundreds of firefighters and dozens of water-dropping planes in Athens’ northeastern suburbs.

Authorities said at least 18 people were injured, mostly due to smoke inhalation as the blaze reached outlying sections of a suburb.

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