Three recent French wildfires were arson

BREST, France: Two forest fires that broke out in northwest France last week were caused by arson, prosecutors said on Monday, taking to three the total of deliberately started blazes in recent weeks.

The two fires in normally wet and blustery northwest Brittany came during a fierce heatwave that has scorched Europe over the last fortnight.

They are "without doubt of human origin", local prosecutor Carine Halley said, adding that experts had identified the starting points.

The Brittany fires were relatively small compared with two others further south that have destroyed more than 20,000 hectares (49,500 acres) of tinder-dry woodland in the Gironde region around Bordeaux.