Planes sent to tackle wildfires of 'exceptional scale' near Paris

The battle by firefighters in France to bring under control a large wildfire raging in forests south of the country’s capital is entering its second day.

The Fontainebleau forest blaze, described by officials as “virulent” and of “exceptional scale”, partially closed the country’s main north-south highway.

Interior minister Laurent Nunez has indicated the blaze may have been deliberately set, after officials said the fire had raced across 800 hectares in the forest about 40 miles (60km) south-east of Paris.

The Paris region is suffering through its third heatwave this year during a summer in which temperature records have been broken in several countries across Europe.

It is the first time firefighting planes had been sent up from the normally drier and hotter south of the country to tackle fires in the Paris region, Eric Brocardi, of France’s national federation of firefighters, said.

Two firefighting helicopters and an observation aircraft had also been deployed, he added, according to French news agency Agence France-Presse.

“The aim is to save lives and property,” he was quoted as saying.

Nunez suggested on Monday that authorities are exploring the possibility that the fire was started intentionally.

“There were about 10 fire ignition points within a perimeter of 1,000 meters, which suggests that it could have been deliberately set,” he said in a statement reported by the AFP news agency.