Dassault Aviation has yet to specify the extent of disruption to manufacturing of its Falcon business jets and Rafale fighters from forest fires that have extended to just nine miles from its main assembly facility at Mérignac near Bordeaux in southwest France. On Monday, the company confirmed it had moved some “sensitive equipment” from its factory in Martignas and its Cestas logistics center—both of which are closer to the main fire sweeping through the Gironde region.
Except for staff needed to handle the transfer of equipment and site protection, employees at both the Mérignac and Martignas sites have been instructed not to report for work, according to a statement from Dassault reported by France’s AFP news agency. Aircraft assembly work at Mérignac has been suspended since Monday, and local emergency services reported overnight they had managed to halt the westward spread of the fire toward Bordeaux.
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