A giant wild boar weighing around 100kg caused chaos in a small French village after charging through the streets, smashing its way into a funeral parlour and leaving two people terrified after a face-to-face encounter.

The extraordinary incident happened in Salviac, in the Lot department of south-west France, on Sunday, November 1, when the animal was apparently startled during a hunting expedition and headed towards the village instead of escaping into the surrounding countryside.

According to French newspaper La Depeche du Midi, people sitting outside the village’s La Poste bar had to rush indoors as the enormous animal came charging down the street.

Boar crashes into funeral business

The animal then crossed the road and repeatedly charged at the entrance to a funeral business, eventually smashing through its glass doors. Owner Catherine Figeac was inside meeting a client when the boar burst into the reception area. The pair suddenly found themselves face to face with the animal, which was so large that its back repeatedly struck the top of her 90cm-high desk.

Terrified, Catherine climbed onto her chair and shouted warnings to people outside as the boar charged through the premises. Although it damaged the entrance and some equipment, neither she nor her client was injured.

The animal subsequently headed towards a nearby restaurant, where it also attempted to force its way through the entrance before eventually fleeing towards the Dégagnac road. Members of the local hunting association later visited the funeral business and arranged for its insurance to cover the damage.

Wild boar increasingly close to homes

The incident has also drawn attention to the growing presence of wild boar around residential communities. A follow-up report by La Depeche on November 12 quoted the president of the Lot Departmental Hunters’ Federation, Michel Bouscary, who said encounters between the animals and residents were becoming increasingly common.

The problem is not confined to France. Wild boar have become a familiar sight in parts of Spain, particularly around the Costa del Sol, where easy access to food and water has encouraged them into built-up areas. Euro Weekly News has previously reported on wild boar running along the A-7 motorway in Mijas, as well as growing concerns over their presence in Fuengirola.

The Spanish government’s national hunting management strategy advises people who encounter wild boar not to run, approach the animals or feed them. Instead, they should leave an escape route and alert the authorities if necessary. Its guidance is particularly relevant to anyone walking dogs or living close to woodland and open countryside.

The Salviac incident ended without injuries, but it was a frightening reminder of what can happen when large wild animals suddenly find themselves in the middle of a residential community.

Mijas distributes 33,000 super-seeds across its Sierra to regenerate plant life scorched by wildfires and combat creeping desertification.

In a hands-on bid to reverse decades of environmental damage, the Spanish town of Mijas has distributed more than 33,000 “supersemillas” across its Sierra, aiming to regenerate plant life scorched by wildfires and threatened by creeping desertification.

The plan, led by the Ayuntamiento de Mijas in partnership with the local firm Exploramás, relies on a centuries-old Japanese technique known as nendo dango. Volunteers crafted small balls of clay, natural fertilizer, substrate and meadow seeds. Once scattered on the ground, the clay casing shields the seeds from birds, wind and sun until rainfall gradually dissolves it, allowing germination without any need for planting or irrigation. A similar nendo dango approach has already been used on the Costa del Sol dunes.

Deployment of seeds follows successful experiments

The second phase of the project saw the seed balls dispersed around the former Los Arenales quarry near Mijas Pueblo and in the Hipódromo area, zones still recovering from recent fires. The effort builds on an earlier workshop held between 20 and 21 October at Cortijo Don Elías, where roughly 700 residents, students and association members rolled the balls by hand. Participants included pupils from the Las Lagunas, Sierra de Mijas, Torre Almenara and Villa de Mijas institutes, students from Kampus Formación, and members of the Fuenmijas Parkinson’s association and Afesol.

Organisers had originally planned for 27,000 seed balls; the final tally exceeded 33,000, a figure chosen in part to symbolically represent the workforce of General Electric, which supported the social action through Exploramás.

Mayor Ana Mata takes part

Mayor Ana Mata joined Environment Councillor Marco Cortés and Education Councillor Juan José Torres for the distribution. She described the Sierra’s recovery as a collective responsibility and stressed that involving schools, associations and businesses turns a practical restoration project into broader environmental education. This latest action continues broader volunteer-led efforts to revive the fire-damaged forests of the Sierra de Mijas.

“When administrations, companies, young people and social groups work together, we achieve results that go far beyond a single environmental action,” Mata said. “We are also teaching values and respect for nature.”

By combining traditional low-tech methods with broad community participation, Mijas is betting that a few tens of thousands of carefully made seed balls can help tip the balance toward greener slopes and greater resilience against the Mediterranean’s intensifying dry spells.

Travellers flying between Europe and the United States on Saturday, 14 November, should check their flight status before leaving for the airport. US departures began to resume on Friday after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop, but US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy warned that schedules would take time to recover. Passengers connecting through a US airport should check both legs of their journey.

The FAA halted departures across the United States on Friday, 13 November, after communications problems affected several regional air traffic control centres. The stop lasted more than four hours. Hundreds of flights were diverted, and more than 11,000 US flights were delayed or cancelled on Friday, according to FlightAware figures reported by The Guardian.

The disruption reached Europe on Friday night. British Airways cancelled its 10.30pm flight from Heathrow to New York. Passengers travelling between Spain and the United States should check directly with their airline for the latest departure time and any changes to onward connections.

Duffy attributed the outage to an overload in ageing communications equipment. Friday’s halt was the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a separate FAA computer system failure led the agency to pause departures across the country.

The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 13, 2026

Sign up for personalised news

Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!

By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.