France evacuates region
Forest fires threaten armaments sites
Updated July 28, 2026 – 6:55 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The fires in France have already destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of forest. Now important industrial companies are also at risk.
An explosives factory, a rocket factory and several research centers: the devastating forest fire in southwest France also threatens the defense and aerospace industries. The Bordeaux region is an important location for the industries; some of the facilities are located in the middle of the pine forest.
The fire, which has been raging between the Atlantic and the metropolis since Wednesday, has already devastated more than 42,000 hectares of land. “Experts and resources” are being deployed “to protect industrial sites,” the Defense Ministry said Paris with. ArianeGroup alone has four locations in the endangered area. Two of them are in Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, an evacuated community.
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There, M51 rockets are filled with highly flammable fuel. Another production facility, which primarily produces engines for the Ariane 6 launch vehicle, is located in the small town of Le Haillan, which the residents also had to leave. The company told AFP: “ArianeGroup is in constant contact with local and national authorities. The challenges related to the protection of ArianeGroup’s sites are being taken into account.”
Roxel France, a subsidiary of the European defense company MBDA that specializes in rocket engines, also produces in the region, as do Dassault, Safran and Thales, the three most important French defense and aerospace companies.
“During the night we carried out earthworks around a number of critical locations to create firebreaks, remove all vegetation and thus not provide fuel for the fire,” said the prefect of the Gironde department, Sophie Brocas, on Saturday, praising the efforts of the construction companies.
Further south, in the community of Le Barp, which was also evacuated, the atomic energy authority CEA operates the Cesta research facility for the French defense and nuclear program. It is a safe distance from the forest, as an AFP journalist noted on Sunday.
220,000 people had to be evacuated
“Everything is under control, don’t worry, the hedging is underway,” said Philippe Bérisset, researcher at Cesta and head of communications, assuring that there is “no risk” at this point. Le Barp administration says lessons have been learned from the 2022 major fires that threatened the community.
