Flooded streets, trapped cars: "This stormy sequence is the most devastating since the 2021 floods," says meteorologist Pascal Mormal on the front page of La Libre Belgique.
The climate is warming, and this is another reminder of a signal we have been hearing for years without really listening: extreme weather events are set to multiply. L'Avenir believes that some prefer to look away, but firefighters cannot afford that luxury. They see the effects directly on the ground. It is in this context that the call from the president of the firefighters' federation should be heard. Marc Gilbert points to a lack of resources. It is better to invest in emergency services than to buy F-35s, he says. He questions "the billions invested in Defense while the threat pours torrents of water on our cities." An observation that deserves to be heard, according to L'Avenir. "Because what's the point of preparing for hypothetical dangers if we are unable to respond to those already knocking at our door?"
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La Dernière Heure does not share this analysis. "Pitting soldiers against firefighters is a bad fight. Especially given current international tensions. Investing in internal security must not come at the expense of our external security. And vice versa."
More and more juvenile delinquents, sometimes very young, placed under electronic monitoring in Flanders. Good or bad solution?
This is the front page of De Morgen: in the north of the country, more and more young people are being placed under electronic surveillance. Juvenile judges imposed a bracelet on 73 minors in 2025, most for drug-related offenses. Three of these young people were only 13 years old. The pilot project was launched two and a half years ago, initially in the province of Antwerp and will expand to all of Flanders by the end of the year. In its editorial, De Morgen questions: the Flemish judicial authorities present these electronic bracelets for young people as a success. "Really?"
There is pressure from part of society demanding more sanctions and an end to impunity: "the electronic bracelet will teach them a lesson." But what exactly do these young people, sometimes barely out of childhood, learn while wearing an electronic bracelet? It is a heavy, "adult" sanction with a risk of isolation or confirmation of a delinquent status. "Those who think that young people equipped with an electronic bracelet can go to school as if nothing were wrong should talk to teachers who have such students in their classes." De Morgen calls for reserving this solution for exceptional cases. The best way to fight crime is to invest in well-being and education. Yet we know that in Flanders too, budget cuts are being imposed on schools.
Flanders has lost its trust in the United States, on the front page of De Standaard
Flemish voters now see the United States as a more dangerous adversary than China. Flemish trust in Americans has evaporated: 52% explicitly consider them an adversary of Belgium. A more negative image than China, with 44% of Flemings considering it an adversary. This emerges from the annual opinion poll conducted by De Standaard, VRT, and RTBF.
How, in two generations, have we gone from a Europe liberated by the United States, fueled by billions of dollars from the Marshall Plan, nourished by American music and cinema, to a real crisis of trust? It is Donald Trump's second term that has dealt a devastating blow to this community of destiny. That is what the survey shows: "a paradigm on which two generations based their worldview has disappeared."
Belgium rejects Trump's America. Should we see this as an awareness that the radicalism of the American president is not the path we wish to take? That would be optimistic, according to De Standaard. The survey shows, on the contrary, an erosion of trust in democracy and the rule of law among us as well. Which is precisely the goal pursued by populists like Donald Trump.
Le Soir asks this question: "When will the ordeal of the Palestinians and the Lebanese finally end?"
In Gaza as in Lebanon, entire cities are devastated, villages wiped off the map. Israel claims to fight against terrorist movements that target civilians in the enemy camp. "But what is Israel doing in Gaza and Lebanon if not also targeting civilians?" And no one stands up to this state, to tell it that its actions are unlawful. The editorialist of Le Soir believes that "Vain meetings of diplomats at the UN will not replace the real pressures that Israel deserves to face."
