# Angry residents jeer France's prime minister as wildfires keep raging across Europe

> Sébastien Lecornu faced jeers in Le Porge, where 183 homes burned down, while Belgium, Greece, Spain and Croatia all continue battling fresh wildfires.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Europe · **Published:** 2026-08-17 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/europe/yuropa-men-lagi-aga-ke-bicha-france-ke-pradhanamntri-ko-le-porge-men-gussae-logon-ne-ghera-17818 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** France wildfires, Sebastien Lecornu, Gironde, Europe wildfires, Belgium fire, Greece fires, Spain wildfire, Croatia fires

France's prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, was met with jeers rather than gratitude on Monday when he travelled to the wildfire-scarred south-west of the country, even as fresh blazes kept forcing evacuations and claiming lives elsewhere in Europe.

## Anger boils over in Le Porge
Roughly 200 residents packed into the town hall in Le Porge, the small coastal town in south-western France where 183 homes had been reduced to ash by the fires, before Lecornu went on to a separate meeting in Merignac later the same day. The organiser of a residents' group accused him of avoiding a face-to-face meeting with the very people whose houses had burned down, while Lecornu's office insisted it had "nothing to hide" about how the firefighting operation had been run.

Ludivine Daurignac, who organised the residents' group, said the community intended to file formal complaints in pursuit of "truth, transparency, and justice," and claimed officers had stopped them reaching the prime minister. She said: "We were met by lines of riot police blocking our access."

The frustration went beyond simply not being able to reach Lecornu. One resident, speaking separately, questioned why professional firefighters stationed in the area had been pulled back to defend the tip of Ferret, leaving only volunteer crews behind to protect homes in Le Porge, and demanded an explanation for why the operation had been handled that way.

## Government promises €12m and faster rebuilding
During the visit, Lecornu announced €12m (£10.3m) of aid for the Gironde and Landes regions, with €10m (£8.5m) earmarked for Gironde and €2m (£1.7m) for Landes. He said the money would let local authorities "launch projects without delay" and build "a sort of recovery plan" for the areas hit hardest by the fires. He also promised that building permits for the "equivalent reconstruction" of homes destroyed in the blazes would be issued within a month, possibly sooner. Separately, the European Union sent assistance to Belgium and Spain, as both countries continued fighting major fires of their own.

## Belgium battles its biggest fire in years
Elsewhere in Europe, firefighters spent the weekend struggling against a wave of new blazes. In Belgium, crews were into a fourth straight day of beating back flames in Hautes Fagnes, the country's largest nature reserve. Officials said on Sunday the fire had more than doubled in size within 24 hours, calling it the largest wildfire in Belgium's recent history. By Monday, Belgian authorities said the blaze had continued spreading overnight but had stayed limited because of "more favourable winds and rainfall." Two police helicopters and additional air support from the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Sweden were expected to join the ground teams battling the flames.

## Greece fights dozens of new fires at once
In Greece, the fire service reported on Monday that 41 forest fires had broken out in the previous 24 hours, of which three were still being actively tackled. Authorities urged residents to take particular care and to follow official instructions if a fire broke out near them. On the island of Salamina, which had been placed under a high wildfire risk warning on Sunday, around 200 firefighters were deployed to stop two separate fires from converging into one.

## A soldier dies as Spain and Portugal keep burning
In Spain, the president of the Aragón region announced on Sunday that a soldier had died while fighting the Peñas de Riglos fire. Flames also continued to rage along Portugal's border with Spain. The European Commission said on Monday that 104 firefighters and 36 vehicles from France had been sent to assist Spanish crews in Aragón, where nearly 16,000 hectares had already burnt.

## Arrests in Croatia after 'one of the worst' fires
In Croatia, police said on Monday they had arrested four people on suspicion of deliberately starting fires at 10 separate locations across the city of Zadar. Croatia's fire chief, Slavko Tucakovic, described it as "one of the worst" wildfires in the country's history. Around 1,200 residents and tourists had to be evacuated as a result.

## Western Europe's hottest June-to-July on record
Behind this run of fires lies a broader weather pattern. The EU's climate monitoring service, Copernicus, confirmed that western Europe has just experienced its hottest June-to-July period on record, a benchmark that helps explain why so many countries are battling wildfires at the same time this summer.

## What this means for you
**For travellers to Europe:** Anyone planning trips to affected parts of France, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Portugal or Croatia should watch for local evacuation orders and official travel advisories given the ongoing fires.

- **A bigger climate signal:** Western Europe recording its hottest June-to-July period on record suggests summer wildfire seasons like this one could become more frequent.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. Where and why was the French prime minister heckled?
Sébastien Lecornu faced jeers from angry residents during a visit to Le Porge on Monday, who were upset over how firefighting was handled and accused him of avoiding meeting them.

### 2. How many homes burned down in Le Porge?
183 homes in Le Porge were reduced to ash by the fires.

### 3. How much aid did Lecornu announce?
He announced €12m (£10.3m) in total for Gironde and Landes, with €10m going to Gironde and €2m to Landes.

### 4. What is the wildfire situation in Belgium?
Firefighters are into a fourth straight day battling a blaze in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve, which more than doubled in size within 24 hours and is being called the largest fire in Belgium's recent history.

### 5. Did anyone die in Spain's wildfires?
Yes, a soldier died while fighting the Peñas de Riglos fire in the Aragón region.

### 6. What happened in Croatia?
Police arrested four people on suspicion of starting fires at 10 locations in Zadar, forcing around 1,200 residents and tourists to evacuate.

### 7. How many fires broke out in Greece?
Greece's fire service reported 41 forest fires in 24 hours, three of which were still being tackled.

### 8. What did Europe's climate service confirm?
The EU's Copernicus service confirmed western Europe had its hottest June-to-July period on record.

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