A volunteer firefighter is detained after confessing to having caused one of the fires in the large blaze that has already burned more than 2,000 hectares of the Fontainebleau forest, about 60 kilometers south of Paris, a natural gem with a large number of visitors all year round.
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The arsonist admitted during interrogations to having set fire to some branches, using a lighter and gasoline, in what would be one of the secondary sources of the fire, which was already underway when he committed this incomprehensible act. Another person detained said they had carelessly thrown a cigarette butt without the intention of setting the forest on fire.
Besides these confessions, four other suspects have denied being the arsonists. Meanwhile, the hypothesis is being studied that the initial cause of the fire, which broke out during a period of extremely high temperatures and very dry vegetation, was related to work carried out near the A6 highway, which had to be closed as a precaution.
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Firefighters believe it may take days or even weeks to fully guarantee that the fire does not reignite, as the area is large, heavily wooded, and embers may remain on the ground, which requires literally flooding it with water. Fortunately, weather forecasts predict a drop in temperatures starting Thursday, with the possibility of rain.
The old age of the French firefighting seaplane fleet, the famous Canadairs, and the shortage of other firefighting aircraft has already sparked political controversy over the lack of investment. One of those who has triggered it is the presidential candidate of La France Insoumise (LFI, far left), Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The problem is that manufacturing these seaplanes, which are very expensive (about 40 million euros), takes time because the old Canadian manufacturer Bombardier stopped producing them and the new one is overwhelmed with orders.
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