In Marseille, a spectacular fire marks the beginning of a “high-risk” season: “For two hours, we were alone in the middle of the flames”

At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, in a light that suddenly turned yellow, ashes began to rain down on the city center of Marseille. A concrete and very spectacular consequence of the major fire that had been ravaging several hundred hectares to the north of the city for two hours. A fire that came to lick the urban areas of Estaque, Saint-Henri and Saint-André, coastal neighborhoods in the ^16th arrondissement of Marseille, and which was spreading extremely "quickly," as explained by the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, who arrived in Marseille at 10 p.m. for a one-hour visit.

This disaster, of unprecedented magnitude this year in the Bouches-du-Rhône region, did not cause any human casualties—according to the latest figures provided by the prefecture—but caused tremendous anxiety throughout the day and caused significant material damage. It also led to the closure of Marseille-Provence Airport until mid-evening, and the suspension of rail traffic between Marseille and Avignon, disrupting TGV connections with Paris. It also forced the authorities to close several roads, including the A55 motorway, triggering traffic congestion that did not clear until late in the evening.

Along the way, the flames damaged dozens of homes, some of which were completely destroyed, in the La Pelouque, La Nerthe, and Le Marinier neighborhoods of Marseille. In total, by early evening, the municipal police, who were very active on the ground, claimed to have evacuated more than 450 people, including about 100 employees of a major call center in Saint-Henri. About 50 residents, unable to return home, spent the night in one of the four centers opened specially by Marseille City Hall, some fearing they would not find their homes intact.

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