France’s biggest wildfire in years was spreading quickly Wednesday in a Mediterranean region near Spain after leaving one person dead and several injured, authorities said. The fire burned an area larger than Paris,

Wildfires in south-western France are the worst in 75 years, according to experts, with the prime minister lamenting a “disaster on an unprecedented scale”.

A ferocious wildfire has swept through the Aude region of southern France, burning up to 16,000 hectares in less than 24 hours. The blaze, covering an area roughly the size of Paris, has forced mass evacuations,