Greece remained on high alert for wildfires on Saturday as major blazes continued to burn across the country, while a fire flared up again in France.
Large parts of Greece face the highest wildfire risk, with civil protection authorities declaring the highest alert level, red, for the greater Athens region.
The situation was most critical around 60 kilometres north-west of the capital, where flames were advancing along a front several kilometres wide. Hundreds of people were brought to safety by boat, according to media reports.
Fires were also raging on the Peloponnese peninsula. A fire service spokesman said crews were battling blazes at 73 locations on Friday evening.
Another major fire broke out west of Athens, prompting the precautionary evacuation of the suburb of Dasos as thick smoke and flames threatened the densely populated area.
Large fires also continued to burn on Crete. Although conditions there had eased somewhat, strengthening winds threatened to fan the flames again and were severely hampering aerial firefighting operations.
Thousands evacuated as fire flares up in southern France
In the southern French department of Var, between Marseille and Cannes, a wildfire flared up again and spread rapidly on Friday, forcing some 2,500 people to evacuate.
Around 1,000 hectares were scorched within several hours, according to the prefecture. Authorities said late on Friday that 720 firefighters were deployed.
France and neighbouring Spain have been fighting to contain a series of severe wildfires fuelled by high temperatures and dry vegetation, with scientists pointing to climate change as the driver for more intense, frequent fires.
Elsewhere in Europe, Turkey has also been battling major blazes.