• Wildfires continue to ravage multiple regions of France, forcing hundreds of evacuations and burning over 42,000 hectares of land.
• Firefighters are battling blazes in Gironde, Var, Fontainebleau forest, Burgundy, and near Bordeaux, with a large-scale operation preventing further spread of flames.
• Residents are warned to stay indoors due to hazardous smoke, while a hopeful outlook is provided by officials as favourable weather conditions are forecasted.

Wildfires have broken out again in several regions of France during a heatwave, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate.

In the southern department of Var, which had already been hit by fires, a blaze broke out near the town of Brignoles, local authorities said on Wednesday evening.

Between 600 and 700 people were evacuated and around 100 hectares of land were burned. Some 250 firefighters, seven firefighting helicopters and four water-bombing aircraft were deployed to tackle the flames.

Another fire was reported in the Fontainebleau forest south of Paris, where a blaze had also broken out two weeks earlier.

No evacuations were planned there, the Ouest-France newspaper reported, citing emergency services. Farmers helped firefighters by using their vehicles to carry water into the forest for the fire engines.

Residents warned over hazardous smoke

A larger fire broke out in the Burgundy village of Couchey near Dijon, burning around 125 hectares, local authorities said in the evening.

Some 150 firefighters, 78 fire engines and two firefighting helicopters were deployed.

Residents were urged to stay indoors where possible and keep doors and windows closed because of hazardous smoke.

Near Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast, firefighters battled renewed outbreaks in temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius and strong winds. A large-scale firefighting operation prevented the flames from spreading again.

The area had already been hit by France's most severe wildfires of the season, which burned across 42,000 hectares.

"If the night goes well, we can be considerably more optimistic for residents and tourists regarding tomorrow and the coming days, as favourable weather conditions are forecast," the prefect of Bordeaux, Sophie Brocas, was quoted as saying by Ouest-France.

She said she hoped the region could begin to consider "a return to normality for residents and businesses that need to resume their work."

Some 224,000 people had been evacuated across the region.