French forest fire suspect taken into custody: prosecutor

A volunteer firefighter who was suspected of starting a fire in France's historic Fontainebleau forest, was placed under formal investigation and remanded in custody on Wednesday, a prosecutor said.

The suspect, aged 18, initially confessed to "setting fire to twigs with a lighter and petrol" before retracting his confession, Diane Ngomsik told AFP, confirming a report on BFMTV.

In all, six people have been arrested as part of the investigation into the wildfires, which burned more than 2,000 hectares (nearly 5,000 acres) of the sprawling forest some 60 kilometres (40 miles) southeast of Paris.

About 1,000 local residents were forced to leave their homes as the fires spread, and the main A6 motorway from the capital to the southeast was shut.

The local authorities said on Tuesday evening that hundreds of firefighters had managed to contain the flames but the fires were not fully extinguished.

France has been sweltering under another heatwave, with the high temperatures contributing to wildfires.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has said 32,000 hectares have been hit by fires since the start of this year -- more than during the entire 2025 fire season.