The Guardian World · Aug 17, 2026

French PM booed on visit to wildfire-affected region as Belgium tackles enormous blaze – Europe live

Wildfire thought to be largest in Belgium’s history creeps closer to German border prompting evacuations As flagged earlier, Belgium’s King Philippe is now visiting the emergency coordination centre looking after the firefighters tackling the major fire in the eastern part of the country ( 9:39 ). The European Commission has deployed assistance to Belgium and Spain as part of the bloc’s civil protection mechanism.