Are Belgian tourists safe as France and Spain battle wildfires and record heat?
As an intense heatwave and wildfires gripped southern France and eastern Spain, the Spanish foreign minister opened a line to Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot to coordinate over Belgian tourists caught in the affected regions.
In 30 seconds
- The Spanish minister of foreign affairs contacted Belgian Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot to coordinate over Belgian tourists in the affected regions, per Het Nieuwsblad's live coverage.
- Météo-France declared code red (vigilance rouge) in 37 French departments on Sunday.
- A wildfire at Trévillach in the Pyrénées-Orientales was reported brought under control.
- Consular protection of Belgians abroad is an exclusively federal competence, handled by the FPS Foreign Affairs, not by Flanders, Wallonia or Brussels.
The story concerns Belgium's federal consular response to a heatwave and wildfires across southern France and eastern Spain. Named entities: Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés), Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation; the Spanish minister of foreign affairs, who initiated the coordination; the Federal Public Service (FPS) Foreign Affairs and its consular contact centre; Météo-France, the French national weather service that issues vigilance rouge (code red) alerts; and Trévillach, a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department where a wildfire was reported under control. Consular protection of citizens abroad is an exclusively federal Belgian competence, not a regional one.
Background
Coordination between Belgian and southern-European foreign ministries over holidaymakers has become an almost annual feature of European summers as Mediterranean heatwaves intensify and fire seasons lengthen. Belgium's consular crisis architecture — standing travel advice, a 24-hour contact centre and embassy networks in Paris and Madrid — was built and repeatedly reinforced after episodes such as major wildfire summers in France, Spain, Portugal and Greece over the past decade.
What to do
Belgians in the affected areas should consult diplomatie.belgium.be, keep the FPS Foreign Affairs consular line to hand, follow local authority instructions, avoid evacuation zones, and check travel and insurance conditions before rebooking.
Impact
Regional — Consular assistance is a federal matter, so no Belgian region carries formal responsibility. The practical exposure is nonetheless felt most across Flanders and Wallonia, whose residents make up the bulk of the late-summer exodus by car and plane to the French Midi and the Spanish costas.
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- 5 Aug 2026
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This story was assembled from verified evidence, with its sources and reasoning recorded as it was written.