2024 - In pictures Destroyed buildings, charred cars, evacuated residents... Greece faces violent fires, now at the gates of Athens

Despite the deployment of hundreds of firefighters, the flames have already decimated more than 8,500 hectares and forced thousands of Greeks to flee their homes.

Satellite images show a fire that is spreading rapidly. The blue sky has turned red. The violent fires that started on Sunday, August 11 near Marathon, northeast of Athens, continue to get closer to the Greek capital. Despite the deployment of hundreds of firefighters and the call for European reinforcements, thousands of residents have already had to leave their homes.

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High temperatures, violent winds, dried-out territory… All the conditions are in place to advance the fires which had already ravaged more than 8,500 hectares on Tuesday morning, according to Copernicus. smoke even covered the Acropolis and the entire Greek capital. In the streets of Athens, Residents wear masks to protect themselves from the suffocating fumes. Others douse their homes with water, hoping to make them less vulnerable to the flames. In ten photos, franceinfo takes you up close to these gigantic fires which have so far claimed at least one victim and dozens injured.