A wildfire that reached Marseille is pushed back but not extinguished

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — A wildfire that reached France’s second-largest city and left around 300 people injured was stabilized but not yet extinguished Wednesday, authorities said. Marseille’s mayor lifted a confinement order for tens of thousands of people.

Mayor Benoit Payan said on broadcaster France-Info that the fire was in “net regression” on Wednesday morning after racing toward the historic Mediterranean port city Tuesday, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate and the population of an entire city district to barricade themselves indoors on official orders.

Spurred by hot summer winds, the fire grounded all flights to and from Marseille and halted train traffic in most of the surrounding area Tuesday. Train, road and plane traffic remained complicated Wednesday.

The prefecture, or local administration, said that 303 people sought treatment for smoke inhalation or other injuries, 24 of whom were hospitalized including residents, firefighters and police.

More than 1,000 firefighters were deployed to tackle the fire, which broke out near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau before advancing toward Marseille. Scores of homes were damaged or destroyed as well as warehouses and vehicles, and some 720 hectares of land were burned by the blaze, the prefecture said.

This satellite photo, provided by Meteo-France, shows smoke billowing due to wildfires near Marseille, southern France, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Meteo-France /NOAA via AP)

The prefecture described the fire as ’’particularly virulent.″ It came on a cloudless, windy day after a lengthy heat wave around Europe left the area parched and at heightened risk for wildfires. Several have broken out in southern France in recent days, including one in the Aude region that has burned some 2,000 hectares and continued to rage Wednesday.

Light gray smoke gave the sky over Marseille’s old port a dusty aspect as water-dropping planes tried to extinguish the fire in the outskirts of the city, which has some 900,000 inhabitants.

’’A fire that is stabilized is a fire that is no longer evolving,″ local authorities said in post on social networks Wednesday afternoon, noting that firefighters were still working to extinguish it.

Smoke is seen by rail tracks during a wildfire Tuesday, July 8, 2025 in Marseille, southern France. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
A cruise ship is seen through the smoke during a wild fire Tuesday, July 8, 2025 in the port of Marseille, southern France. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community? Create a free account to comment on stories, ask questions, and join meaningful discussions on our new site.

Leave a Reply

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.