Fontainebleau fire: Two suspects admit to intentionally setting blaze

Two 18-year-old individuals, a volunteer firefighter and a student, have admitted to deliberately starting the massive fire that ravaged the Forest of Fontainebleau. They confessed to investigators after being taken into custody. Both are set to be presented to a judge for indictment, with prosecutors requesting pre-trial detention.

The blaze, which consumed over 2,000 hectares in Seine-et-Marne, has prompted a judicial investigation into "destruction by fire of wood, forest, heath, scrubland or plantation, potentially causing harm to people." The confession of the two young men, who were apprehended separately near the fire's origins in Arbonne-la-Forêt and Fontainebleau, marks a significant development in the case.

The involvement of a volunteer firefighter has caused shock among his colleagues. The president of the SDIS 77 administrative board expressed "consternation," stating that if the facts are proven, it would be a "betrayal." The firefighter has been suspended pending the investigation.

Separately, two other men, aged 51 and 20, were arrested. The younger man has a record for traffic offenses. Investigators are working to determine if these two individuals were voluntarily involved in starting the fires. Meanwhile, a 46-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempting to start a fire, with crumpled newspapers and a lighter found in his vehicle.

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If the facts were to be definitively established, they would constitute a betrayal.