Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced at a press conference that of the 402 detained individuals, 156 are minors, and 36 are in custody, either under accusation or awaiting trial.
Since the start of the season, 14,540 ignition points have been recorded, covering an area of 120 thousand hectares. The Minister assured that the situation is gradually improving, but authorities continue to closely monitor various regions.
In particular, he mentioned Mediterranean coast (southeast), the Rhône Valley (east-center), and the west, where a fire occurred in Morbihan, Brittany, as areas under monitoring. He emphasized that vigilance remains extremely high due to meteorological conditions favorable for forest fires.
The Météo-France meteorological agency maintains an orange heatwave warning for Thursday in 13 departments (compared to 16 departments on Tuesday). Among them is Drôme, where a fire that started on Monday has already destroyed 280 hectares, according to the Minister.
The French alert system has four levels: from green (no special observation) to red (absolute observation), including yellow and orange. According to statistics, nine out of ten forest fires are caused by humans, and lightning is responsible for the remaining 10%.
Nevertheless, initial findings indicate that the largest fires this season in France were accidental. Furthermore, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the record area of burned land over twenty years of satellite measurement was exceeded in 2026.
Forests burn more easily because the vegetation and soil have been in a state of severe dryness for several months, which is exacerbated by recent extreme heatwaves. A study published by climatologists from the World Weather Attribution group on Thursday indicates that human-induced climate change is making the current drought more severe.