Flames licked the outskirts of Marseille on Tuesday, with residents warned to stayed inside, close doors and keep roads clear for emergencies.

Ryanair was among airlines that announced widespread disruptions, saying in a statement it canceled more than 400 flights affecting 70,000 passengers. The company said the strike affects all its flights over French airspace, as well as traffic in and out of French airports, and urged the European Union to reform air traffic rules.

The French civil aviation agency said on Tuesday it had asked airlines to reduce flights at Paris' airports by 25% on July 3 following notification of a strike by air traffic controllers.

A wildfire in southern France on Tuesday that forced Marseille airport to close and interrupted train traffic has not been fully contained, the country’s interior minister said. Several forest fires have raged in recent days in southern France,

APOCALYPTIC” blazes have forced Marseilles International Airport to shut down as France braces to tackle raging wildfires. Plumes of acrid smoke billowed into the sky – causing