PARIS, France, Aug 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Firefighters in Belgium battled to contain the country's worst wildfire in a century on Monday, while Greece said a deadly blaze near Athens had been controlled.

But anger over the official response to Europe's summer of fires boiled over in France when that country's prime minister was jeered as he visited a village devastated by a forest inferno.

Here are the latest developments across Europe:

    Macron vows aid for fire-hit region -

President Emmanuel Macron said fire-hit areas in the Var region of southern France would get the same financial aid as similarly-affected parts of the country's southwest.

Earlier, his Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced 12 million euros for the southwest.

Lecornu later said the total cost to the state of providing the aid could top 100 million euros -- including temporary cuts to taxes and social security payments.

    Northern France fire 'under control' -

A wildfire burning for days in a nature reserve in France's northern coastal Pas de Calais region is now "under control", the top official for the area said Monday.

The fire ran across around 190 hectares (470 acres) of vegetation on dunes in Mont Saint Frieux before being stopped on Friday. One home was destroyed, but there were no casualties.

    Spain 'optimistic' about blaze -

Authorities in Spain's northeastern Aragon region said they were "optimistic" in the fight against a huge fire that has razed more than 17,000 hectares over the past week.

Officials directing the battle against the blaze said the "major part" of the fire had been stabilised, and two historic monasteries threatened by the flames are now not thought to be in danger.

    Belgian blaze stops short of German border -

Belgium's biggest wildfire in a century, which has devastated some 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) of the High Fens nature reserve, halted short of the German border.

But officials warned the blaze was not yet contained and could still spread further.

A pensioner couple in the town of Monschau on the German side of the border said they did not hesitate to evacuate with their two dogs as smoke filled the air from the nearby fire.

"I've never seen one like it," said one of them, Ulrich Mertens. "It was no small fire, that's for sure."

    French PM jeered -

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu was heckled by around 200 people dressed in black as he visited a village in the Gironde region, where 183 homes burned down.

Some residents allege authorities prioritised fighting fires in the upscale Cap-Ferret peninsula -- where many affluent Parisians take holidays -- over protecting the homes of locals.

    Rain boosts Belgium's fight -

Rain fell in Belgium, bringing much-needed respite to the 500 firefighters and emergency crews tackling the blaze in its east, but officials warned conditions could change fast.

Germany's defence ministry said that two military water-bombing helicopters would be sent to Belgium. The German town of Monschau, close to the border, ordered nearly 30 people living in two streets near the frontier to evacuate.

    Greece controls deadly blaze -

Two fires on the Greek island of Salamis near Athens that claimed two lives and led to the evacuation of nearly 600 people on boats have been largely extinguished, the fire service said Monday.

The fires broke out Sunday near packed beaches on the island just west of Athens that is popular with day-trippers. Though the civil protection agency issued evacuation orders, the fire department said the fires spread in just seven minutes owing to strong winds, trapping an elderly couple near their home.

    Firefighters deployed in Portugal -

Hundreds of firefighters were battling two fires in northern Portugal, with the biggest of them, in Torre de Moncorvo, burning at least 900 hectares.

The other blaze was located in Ponte de Lima.