Dassault Aviation had to move \u201ca certain number of sensitive equipment\u201d from its site in Martignas and a logistics center in Cestas to its site in M\u00e9rignac and the local Air Base 106, working in close cooperation with France\u2019s Directorate General for Armament and local authorities, the aircraft maker said in an emailed statement late Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Satellite data on Tuesday morning showed wildfires remained active less than 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) west of Dassault\u2019s Martignas site, which is the wing assembly plant for the Rafale jet, before final assembly of the aircraft in M\u00e9rignac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NASA\u2019s Fire Information for Resource Management System showed fires and hot spots<\/a> west of Bordeaux were significantly reduced as of 9 o\u2019clock in the morning local time, though authorities have warned that a new wave of hot weather with a peak on Wednesday, combined with near-record drought conditions, could cause fire activity to pick up again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employees at the M\u00e9rignac and Martignas plants are staying home, in line with instructions issued by authorities, unless they\u2019ve been evacuated, Dassault Aviation said. Those still working are the teams necessary for the transfer of equipment and those in charge of protecting the site to help with fire-fighting efforts, the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ArianeGroup is working in close cooperation with local and national authorities, and the company\u2019s sites west of Bordeaux \u201chave been evacuated, and all necessary measures have been taken to secure them,\u201d the space-launch company said in an emailed reply to questions. The firm said it\u2019s not commenting on security measures around its sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Satellite data as of Tuesday morning showed active wildfires around 12 kilometers west of ArianeGroup\u2019s Candale site, where the propulsion units of the M51 missile stages are integrated and assembled, around 13 kilometers from the site of Saint-M\u00e9dard-en-Jalles where the missile is fueled, and some 16 kilometers of the Le Haillan site that produces the company\u2019s solid-propulsion systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhilst the unprecedented forest fires in Gironde are above all an environmental and humanitarian disaster, they also threaten sites that are of vital strategic importance to our nuclear deterrent,\u201d said Etienne Marcuz, an associate fellow at the Foundation pour la Recherche Strat\u00e9gique, in a post<\/a> on the social media network X on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287073551.jpg.jpg\")