Hundreds evacuated in southern French fire

More than 300 people were evacuated from their homes on the outskirts of Marseille as bush fires started by a military exercise neared the southern French city, officials said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Around 420 hectares of bush was burning by 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) when between 300 and 350 people were evacuated from the Trois-Ponts area, around 5 km from the center of Marseille, police said.

About 170 firefighters backed by helicopters and waterbombing aircraft were fighting the fire.

The blaze, stoked by hot, dry conditions and strong winds, appears to have been started after an exercise by a Foreign Legion unit in which tracer ammunition was used, officials said.

"I'm really furious about this situation," Michel Sappin, a senior regional official told RTL radio. "It's completely unacceptable that the army keeps up these activities during this period as though there was no problem."

Bush fires are common in southern France during the hot summer months.