'Fierce' French wildfire forces evacuations near Saint-Tropez
Hundreds of French firefighters battled a raging blaze near the Mediterranean resort of Saint-Tropez on Tuesday, with thousands of residents and holidaymakers forced to evacuate. Roughly 750 firefighters using high-pressure hoses and water-dropping aircraft were attempting to control the flames, which began racing through a nature reserve on Monday evening. "Thousands of people have been evacuated as a precautionary measure, but there are no victims," fire service spokeswoman Delphine Vienco told AFP on Tuesday morning, adding that the blaze was "still very fierce". Among those moved to safety were 1,300 people staying at a campsite in the village of Bormes-les-Mimosas down the coast from glitzy Saint-Tropez. As tourists and locals fled, officials warned them to avoid blocking roads used by the emergency services. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte are on holiday nearby, and he announced he would visit the area later. Southern France is the latest area around the Mediterranean basin to be hit by wildfires this summer, a seasonal phenomenon that climate scientists warn will become increasingly common because of man-made global warming. Large fires have already...