A fire broke out near Marseille and had covered about twenty hectares late Tuesday afternoon.
Fanned by a violent mistral, the fire caused the flight of more than 150 people from their homes.
They took refuge in a gymnasium made available to them by their municipality.
More than 150 people fled their homes on Tuesday near Marseille in the face of the advance of a fire which had already covered about twenty hectares at the end of the afternoon, fanned by a violent mistral, we learned with firefighters.
The fire, which started around 4:45 p.m. from the town of La Bouilladisse, a few kilometers east of Marseille, then moved into the territory of Auriol, approaching some homes.
At 7:30 p.m., 155 people had abandoned their homes to take refuge in a gymnasium made available to them by the municipality.
Mistral gusts at 80 km / h
Faced with "an evolving fire", 175 firefighters from Bouches-du-Rhône were deployed on the ground, assisted by 60 machines and five planes, including four Canadairs, it was specified on the side of the Departmental Fire Service and relief.
The flames, part of the Regagnas massif, are fanned by gusts of the mistral reaching 80 km / h.
The wind is predicted to last until Thursday, which could complicate the task of firefighters and lead to dangerous resumptions.