France bans entry into mountain forests over fire concerns

Paris, July 7 (IANS) France has banned entry and fieldwork in the mountain forests in the southern city of Toulon over fire concerns, local authorities have said.

The mountain forests of the Bouches-du-Rhone department in the south of France are also off limits, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the French news channel BFMTV.

The Mediterranean arc has reported 600 fire disasters since the beginning of this year, a frequence that is "never seen over decades", said Gregory Allione, president of the National Federation of Firefighters of France.

Several other regions in France are also on wildfire alarm, he said, citing forecasts of record high temperatures and high wind for the coming weeks.