TOURISTS were seen scrambling out of the sea at a French beach after spotting a massive shark heading for the shoreline.

Swimmers frantically fled the water after the 7ft creature came concerningly close to the sand in Le Barcarès on Saturday afternoon.

Lifeguards rushed to raise a red flag to warn beachgoers after noticing the blue shark lurking in the Pyrénées-Orientales, which borders the Mediterranean Sea.

Dramatic video shows the animal swimming just 100 metres offshore as crowds gathered on the safety of the sand to watch the spectacle.

Its dorsal fin can be seen ominously rising above the waves as terrified onlookers gasped and screamed.

The sea was evacuated by eagle-eyed lifeguards as a precaution after a "dark shape" was spotted in the water.

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David Simian, the chief lifeguard in Barcarès, told The Times: "Lifeguards took a boat out and saw it was a shark.

"It was a blue shark that is no threat to humans."

He explained that holidaymakers were ushered out of the sea to "avoid accidents and panic" as well as to protect the shark.

One tourist said she was in a nearby restaurant when she heard the commotion unfold on the beach as people shrieked: "Shark, shark!"

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She described how "all of a sudden people started screaming in all directions" when the animal began its approach.

Although sightings of blue sharks are common during the reproductive season, they usually do not swim so close to the shore.

Victor Salvat, another lifeguard at Barcarès, told local radio it was the first time he had seen a shark in the Mediterranean.

He said the creature was "really calm" when they approached on the boat to confirm its identity, adding that it wasn't even spooked by the noise of the engine.

Victor continued: "We watched it for about five minutes. It circled around us and it was about two metres long.

"At one point, it ended up under the dinghy, you could see its mouth and tail at the same time, so it was quite big. It was all black.

"It was really calm."

According to local media, swimming was banned at the beach for one hour lifeguards deemed the water safe to enter.

A whopping 47 shark species are known to call the coast of mainland France home, with the majority not posing a threat to humans.

But the beasts seem to be getting bolder – as tourists across Spain have been forced to bolt out of the sea to avoid sharks over the summer.

The holiday hotspot has been swarmed by sea creatures in recent weeks, forcing some to temporarily close.

Beachgoers in the small resort town of La Antilla were in a panic after spotting a fin poking above the waves – but police said the surprise guest on the shoreline was a Cuvier's beaked whale.

Last month, families were seen frantically running through waist-high water as a shark swam up beside them off a Costa Blanca beach.

Days later, a blue shark sparked panic at Aguamarina beach in Orihuela Costa south of Alicante.

A shark was then spotted gliding through the water off a beach in Ibiza – marking the fifth sighting in Spain in just a week.

Terrifying footage later emerged of another shark nearing the sands in Malaga, forcing Brits to flee to the shore.

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The Patalavaca beach in Mogan, Gran Canaria, was then closed after two hammerhead sharks were spotted prowling near the coast.

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