Fire-fighters recruited teenage arsonists

Part time fire-fighters in a small northern French town are suspected of asking local teenagers to set fires as a way to get more pay.

The seven told investigators they worried their firehouse in Sallaumine would shut down because there was so little work, officials said.

The group is suspected of a role in about 15 fires between July and November.

All were placed under investigation – a step short of formal charges – for arson and complicity in arson.

Three were jailed. The others were released.

In southern France this week, a former volunteer fire-fighter was jailed and placed under investigation for starting five fires on the Riviera – including one that killed four people in July.

Judicial officials say the man acknowledged responsibility for all the fires except the one that killed four foreign tourists – two British, a Dutch and a Polish citizen. He was jailed in Draguignan.