France and Spain battle wildfires as more than 250,000 people are forced to flee

Firefighters spray water in a burning forest near Lacanau, southwestern France (Emma Da Silva/AP)

France sent a hulking military cargo plane to dump tons of flame retardants as it battled raging wildfires on Saturday and slashed the final stage of the Tour de France to redeploy security personnel to the blazes that forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

The latest wildfires in southern Europe this week have displaced more than 250,000 people, including some 70,000 people who were evacuated in central Spain.