Boys suspected of starting one of wildfires in southern France that have destroyed homes and forced evacuation of thousands

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Two adolescent boys are to go before a judge on Friday on suspicion of deliberately starting one of the wildfires that devastated parts of south-eastern France and Corsica this week.

The two boys, both aged 16, were stopped on Wednesday by police who believed arson was behind the blaze in Carros, north of Nice, where 150 hectares (370 acres) of vegetation were burnt, according to the deputy police prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence, Rémy Avon.

Fires this week, the worst in France for more than a decade, have scorched over 7,000 hectares of land, destroyed homes and forced the evacuation of thousands.

About 230 firefighters battled the Carros fires, which damaged houses and injured a first responder.

Avon said the adolescents may also be charged with theft and could face a prison sentence of 15 years.

François Arizzi, the mayor of Bormes-Les-Mimosas, the site of one of the most dramatic blazes, is among officials who have claimed that some of the five days of wildfires were caused by arsonists.

“We have to stop closing our eyes to the facts. We need to find the people responsible and punish them so that they don’t do it again,” the mayor told reporters.

The French prime minister, Édouard Philippe, warned that “malicious acts must be punished” by the authorities.

Meanwhile, a 41-year-old man has admitted starting a wildfire by accident with a metal-cutting device.



That fire in Peynier, about 30km (19 miles) north-west of Marseille, burned 72 hectares (178 acres) of vegetation before being contained by a team of more than 300 firefighters. The man will go to court on Friday afternoon and could face up to five years in prison.