French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced on Saturday that 32 people had been arrested on suspicion of starting fires across France since the beginning of summer.
Nunez said in a statement on X that "these unacceptable acts, which have serious consequences and endanger the lives of firefighters, are now in the hands of the judiciary," adding, "We will continue our firm action and will not tolerate anyone."
President Emmanuel Macron called on everyone to act responsibly and remain vigilant, noting on X that "9 out of 10 forest fires are caused by human activity." Macron wrote: "A single moment of negligence can threaten families, endanger those who protect us, and destroy our landscapes."
France has battled wildfires in recent days that have burned approximately 10,000 hectares, particularly in the south of the country.
On Thursday, a man in his fifties was arrested and taken into police custody after his behaviour aroused suspicion, as witnesses spotted him near a fire in Perpignan, in the southwest, before he fled the scene. Last Sunday, two young men aged 21 and 27 were arrested on suspicion of starting fires in Hérault in the south of the country.
In the Ain department in eastern France, two minors aged 15 and 16 were charged on 2 July with destruction of property by dangerous means, following suspicions that they caused a fire that destroyed a large part of the Divonne-les-Bains castle on 28 June. A third boy, aged 16, was charged with negligent failure to extinguish the fire. The public prosecutor's office in Bourg-en-Bresse said all three had been placed under judicial supervision.