Key facts
- French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was heckled by residents in Le Porge, France, during a visit to a wildfire-affected area.
- Residents expressed frustration over the wildfire management and access to the prime minister.
- France announced €12m in aid for the Gironde and Landes regions.
- Wildfires are affecting multiple European countries, including Belgium, Greece, Spain, and Croatia.
- The EU has deployed cross-border assistance to help combat the blazes.
- Western Europe recorded its hottest June-to-July period on record, according to the EU's climate monitoring service.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu faced a hostile reception from residents in Le Porge, an area in southwestern France heavily impacted by wildfires, as he visited to discuss the response and aid efforts. Approximately 200 people gathered, with some accusing the prime minister of avoiding them and expressing a desire for "truth, transparency, and justice" regarding the fire management.
Lecornu announced €12 million in aid for the Gironde and Landes regions, with €10 million allocated to Gironde and €2 million to Landes. He also stated that building permits for the reconstruction of homes destroyed by the fires would be issued within a month. Despite these announcements, residents voiced concerns about the handling of the fires, questioning why certain resources were redeployed.
Meanwhile, Europe continued to grapple with widespread wildfires. In Belgium, firefighters spent a fourth day battling a blaze in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve, described as the largest in the country's recent history. Favorable winds and rainfall aided efforts, with international assistance arriving from the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, and Sweden.
Greece reported 41 forest fires in the past 24 hours, with significant efforts focused on the island of Salamina. Spain's Aragón region saw a soldier die in a wildfire, with nearly 16,000 hectares burnt, prompting France to send 104 firefighters to assist. In Croatia, four individuals were arrested on suspicion of arson in Zadar, where around 1,200 people were evacuated due to one of the country's worst blazes.
The European Commission's climate monitoring service, Copernicus, confirmed that western Europe experienced its hottest June-to-July period on record, underscoring the extreme conditions fueling the fires.