The 19-year-old volunteer allegedly used gasoline and a lighter to ignite vegetation in the historic forest southeast of Paris, where 800 firefighters remain deployed amid fears of underground ‘zombie fires’

By Monday afternoon the fire had raced across almost 1,000 hectares, forcing some residents from their homes in the normally quiet forest.

Firefighters battle a major blaze in Fontainebleau near Paris, with two arrests amid a record year for wildfires in France.