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 of the sprawling forest some 60 kilometres 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.
On Thursday, 950 firefighters remained on duty battling the blaze in Fontainebleau. A Dash water-bombing aircraft will again be used as all flames were not fully extinguished. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron is expected on site during the day.
