A 15-year-old boy has been placed under formal investigation and sent to a closed youth facility in connection with a wildfire that killed two firefighters near Bordeaux on 21 July, French judicial authorities said.
The blaze trapped a fire truck in a burning pine stand near Mérignac, killing Wilfried Schmitter and Anthony Berthôme, both 34-year-old professional firefighters. The teenager cleared his 22-year-old brother, who had also been detained and was subsequently released. The two victims were posthumously awarded the Ordre de la Nation by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
The Gironde fires destroyed more than 40,000 hectares, part of a devastating season in which France has already recorded nearly 100,000 hectares burned, a 20-year record. Nine firefighters' unions, meeting Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez on Thursday, said they were "very disappointed" by the government's promises and called for national mobilisation in September.