SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-CABRERISSE, France — France’s biggest wildfire in years was spreading quickly Wednesday in a Mediterranean region near Spain after leaving one person dead and several injured, authorities said. The fire burned an area larger than Paris, and the military was called in to help.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou deplored a “disaster on an unprecedented scale” in the region.

Over 2,100 firefighters and several water bomber aircraft battled the blaze that broke out Tuesday afternoon in the village of Ribaute in the Aude region, a rural, wooded area that is home to wineries.

The fire, which has burned 16,000 hectares (39,500 acres), remained “very active” on Wednesday and continued to progress as night fell, the local administration said. The weather was hot, dry and w

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