An 18-year-old volunteer firefighter suspected of igniting a blaze in France’s historic Fontainebleau Forest has been placed under formal investigation and remanded in custody, a prosecutor said.
The teenager initially admitted to “setting fire to twigs with a lighter and petrol” but later withdrew the confession, according to Diane Ngomsik.
Six people have now been arrested in the investigation into the wildfires, which scorched more than 2,000 hectares of the vast woodland around 60 kilometres southeast of Paris.
As flames swept through the area, roughly 1,000 residents were driven from their homes, while authorities closed the A6, the main motorway linking the capital with southeastern France.
The fires erupted as France endured another heatwave, with searing temperatures helping fuel outbreaks across the country.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said fires have affected 32,000 hectares since the beginning of the year, already surpassing the total recorded during the entire 2025 fire season.
