A massive wildfire near Paris has torched swathes of a forest that has lured admirers for centuries, from royal hunting parties to impressionist painters, rock climbers and nature lovers.
Fontainebleau is no stranger to fire but this inferno -- fanned by strong winds and heatwave conditions -- is among the worst in decades, destroying nearly five percent of the 25,000-hectare (61,800 acre) forest.
READ ALSO: LATEST - Wildfires advance in forest south of Paris
Prehistory and royalty
Fontainebleau attracts between 15 and 18 million visitors a year -- nearly twice as many as the Louvre museum in Paris.
