France evacuates missile plants while fire threatens Bordeaux
The Gironde fire, the most devastating in the country's history, has already destroyed 42,000 hectares and puts strategic facilities on alert
BarcelonaThe most serious forest fires on record in France continue to be out of control and threaten, this Tuesday evening, strategic infrastructures of the aerospace and defense industry. At least seven facilities storing dangerous substances are less than twenty kilometers from the perimeter of the large fire burning in the department of Gironde, the largest in the New Aquitaine region, in the southwest of the hexagon. Among these infrastructures is the Saint-Médard-en-Jalles complex, a 435-hectare plant where propellants for Ariane rockets and strategic missiles are manufactured. Another facility located in the neighboring town of Sainte-Hélène dedicated to the production of ammonium perchlorate, a potent explosive agent, is also threatened by the fire.
The company ArianeGroup has evacuated both centers and assures that it has adopted "all necessary measures" to guarantee their safety, while the French Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has confirmed the deployment of special protection devices around these facilities due to the nature of the materials stored there.
The fire, considered the worst France has experienced in its recent history, has already burned about 42,000 hectares west of Bordeaux. More than 220,000 people have had to be evacuated since the emergency began, and this Tuesday, 4,000 more people have been preemptively evacuated from campsites and tourist accommodations in La Canau. The main front is about fifteen kilometers from the outskirts of Bordeaux, and the Ministry of the Interior admits that the fire "has a life of its own".
According to the latest statement from the Cestas Town Hall, the situation remains critical. The fire is not yet under control and meteorological conditions have worsened in recent hours due to rising temperatures. The head of the fire is located in the northwest of the municipality, about sixteen kilometers from Bordeaux, near Croix d'Hins and the photovoltaic plant of the aforementioned locality of Cestas. Authorities insist that it is "formally prohibited" for evacuees to return to their homes until their safety can be guaranteed.
Despite the proximity of the flames, the Town Hall assures that no homes have been affected so far. Firefighters, forest defense teams against fires (DFCI), Civil Protection, and numerous volunteers continue to work tirelessly to protect the municipality. The 150 professionals deployed on the ground since Sunday completed this Tuesday the firebreak belt surrounding the most threatened area, while the council has set up a logistics base that operates 24 hours a day to house, feed, and support the hundreds of firefighters mobilized.
The fight against the flames is being complicated by the arrival of a new heatwave, with temperatures that could reach 40 degrees. Manuel Martinez, mayor of another of the most affected towns, Marcheprime, stated in a press release that the municipality is "at war with an enemy," and the spokesperson for the National Federation of Firefighters, Eric Brocardi, said that the fires are of "exceptional intensity," comparing the battle against the fire to that of David against Goliath. On Monday night, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, stated that the country is going through its most critical moment since World War II.
The emergency also has a very high human cost. A 38-year-old volunteer firefighter died on Monday in an accident with the tanker truck he was driving, bringing the number of firefighters killed in this fire campaign in France to four. In parallel, police have arrested a 23-year-old man suspected of having started several fires in the Var region, while the government is considering toughening penalties for arson to up to thirty years in prison when these force the evacuation of entire towns.