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,

Flights to and from Marseille have been suspended and traffic at the city’s main train station was disrupted due to a wildfire near the southern French port city.