Fire erupts near main highway south of Paris

French officials said they were sending two planes to fight a forest fire that erupted late Sunday, partially blocking a key highway south of Paris during one of the busiest summer travel weekends.

The fire, which the local fire service described as "very virulent", began late afternoon in the Fontainebleau forest about 60 kilometres (40 miles) south-east of the capital.

Local firemen said the fire had engulfed several hectares, causing the partial shutting of the A6 highway, the country's main north-south artery.

Eric Brocardi, of France's national federation of firemen, said this would be the first time that fire bomber planes had been sent up from the normally drier and hotter south of the country to extinguish fires in the north.

Earlier, firemen controlled a fire that had blocked a highway running east from Paris and disrupted a high-speed train line to the south of France.