Marseille Airport Airport

Forest fires raged through parts of France's Mediterranean coast today, with the worst in almost two decades burning around Marseille, injuring seven people and forcing authorities to evacuate thousands from their homes.

French air traffic controllers walked off the job at the start of a three-day strike on Tuesday, grounding hundreds of flights across the country in a Europe-wide protest against European Union plans to liberalize civil airspace.

Forest fires raged through parts of France's Mediterranean coast today, with the worst in almost two decades burning around Marseille, injuring seven people and forcing authorities to evacuate thousands from their homes.

French air traffic controllers walked off the job at the start of a three-day strike on Tuesday, grounding hundreds of flights across the country in a Europe-wide protest against European Union plans to liberalize civil airspace.