NANTES, France (Reuters) – French police investigating the fire that engulfed the 15th-century Nantes Cathedral last week have rearrested a Rwandan refugee who had been questioned and released earlier in the criminal probe, local prosecutor Pierre Sennes said.
The 39-year-old man, who worked as a volunteer warden at the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, was questioned again on Saturday by prosecutors who are now formally seeking his detention after new forensic evidence came to light.
Early results from police laboratory work show further evidence of arson, Sennes said on Saturday.
The July 18 blaze engulfed the inside of the Gothic structure, destroying a grand organ, stained-glass windows and a painting. Fires started in three different places within the building, with no sign of a break-in, authorities said.
(Reporting by Guillaume Frouin; Writing by Laurence Frost; Editing by Sandra Maler)
