France is the scene of forest fires — some of them gigantic — in different regions of the country. Most of them are accidental in origin, but some outbreaks are started by pyromaniacs. Since June, 26 people have been detained for questioning, the French Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.
According to information provided by the French government to FranceInfo radio, 22 investigations are currently underway. Four individuals were convicted, including a 22-year-old, who received his verdict on Tuesday.
On Sunday (14), a 40-year-old man was arrested while trying to start two forest fires in Anglet, in the southwest. The Public Ministry indicated that he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital on Monday (15).
Cases of pyromaniac firefighters also shock France. At the end of July, a 44-year-old volunteer firefighter acknowledged having started at least eight fires in the Ardèche region, in the southeast of the country. He is blamed for the destruction of around 1,200 hectares of vegetation in the region and can be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
In the same period, another volunteer firefighter from the Hérault region in the south confessed to police that he had started several fires since 2019 around his hometown of Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière. The 37-year-old is married, the father of two children and holds a position as treasurer in charge of events at the local town hall. He claims to have started the flames due to “a stressful family life”, a need for “social recognition” and “adrenaline”.
“I was drunk”
A 22-year-old boy was sentenced to eight months in prison, with the right to parole, on Tuesday. He admitted to having started a fire on August 12 in Ardennes, in the northeast of the country, claiming he had consumed alcohol and was not aware of the risks.
“I had no purpose. I was drunk. I didn’t mean for the flames to spread,” he declared during his hearing.
According to investigators, the fire started with lighter fluid on the side of a road, about 300 meters from homes in the municipality of Châtelet-sur-Retourne, in the northeast of the country. The youth was detained, unconscious, at the scene after police were alerted by a group of teenagers who tried to limit the spread of the fire on their own. It took three tanker trucks and the mobilization of eight firefighters to extinguish the flames.
Episodes involving arsonists are becoming increasingly common in France. Since June, the country has been facing a wave of fires, driven by high temperatures and a historic drought.
According to the latest data from the European Forest Fire Information System, 2022 is the worst year in almost two decades in France. More than 62,000 hectares of vegetation have been destroyed by fire since January.
