A blistering heatwave gripped southwest France on Monday, sending thermometers soaring to 43 degrees Celsius in parts of the Charente and Aude

Temperature records were broken at at least four weather stations in southern France on Monday as much of the country baked in a new summer heatwave and the government called for vigilance.

In Aude, a region of vineyards and Mediterranean scrubland, hundreds of firefighters remain on hillsides, guarding the edges of a massive blaze that scorched 16,000 hectares last week. Officials state the flames are under control,