On July 27, local time, French Prime Minister Sébastien Le Corny said that since July 6, French police had arrested 162 suspected arsonists. He emphasized that arson is a serious crime, with a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Currently, French security authorities are pursuing arson suspects with all their efforts, and all persons involved will be held accountable according to law.
Le Corny also called for the public to strengthen fire awareness, pointing out that 90% of French fires are caused by man-made causes, most of which stem from negligence, such as carelessly throwing cigarette butts, illegal barbecues, and not taking necessary fire prevention measures during construction processes.
Since the summer of this year, large-scale forest fires have occurred in many parts of France. On July 24, local time, the Ministry of the Interior, Laurent Nunez, told the Interdepartmental Crisis Management Center about the forest fire situation in the country. He said that the accumulated area of forest fires in France this year has approached 98,000 hectares, a record high. Among them, the area of forest fires in the province of Gironde alone has exceeded 40,000 hectares. (Chen Minglei)