Bordeaux wildfires hit 39,000 businesses and strain wine tourism
Why it matters: The fires have displaced 220,000 people and threaten one of the few growing parts of Bordeaux's wine trade.
Wildfires near Bordeaux are widening the economic damage in southwest France, hitting tourism and the region's struggling wine industry as evacuations empty beaches, chateaux and other visitor sites. The regional chamber of commerce said 39,000 businesses have been affected in Gironde, where fires have burned an area four times the size of Paris and forced 220,000 people from homes and tourist destinations. Vineyard owner Edouard le Grix de la Salle said official appeals to avoid the region risk hurting wine tourism, which he described as one of the few expanding parts of Bordeaux's wine business. The region also hosts major aerospace and defense operations, including Airbus, Dassault and Thales.