Firefighters worked to prevent the blaze from entering France’s second-biggest city, where ash and smoke had spread overnight.

A wildfire that broke out near Marseille in southern France forced the closure of Marseille Provence airport on Tuesday, a spokesperson there said. Planes have not been taking off or landing since around midday and some flights have been diverted to Nice,

A wildfire in southern France has forced Marseille airport to close and interrupted train traffic as the blaze spread rapidly to the edges of the southern French city.