Wildfires sweeping through southwestern France near Bordeaux are threatening sensitive defence and nuclear facilities, prompting evacuations and emergency measures at missile factories, military research centres and aerospace plants. The fires matter beyond the immediate destruction because they place critical national security infrastructure at risk, coinciding with a fourth heatwave bearing down on the country and stretching emergency services already responding to widespread displacement.

The blazes have forced more than 250,000 people to evacuate across the region, with France's renowned Bordeaux wine region also under threat. Authorities have deployed the military to assist firefighting efforts, and organisers shortened the route of the Tour de France as crews battled the fires. Neighbouring Spain has been hit by similar wildfires and has declared a national emergency, underlining the scale of the crisis spreading across south-western Europe.