EVA VAN DAM, JAMEY KEATEN and JOHN LEICESTER - Associated Press
•7/29/2026
SADIRAC, France (AP) — From his vineyards in Bordeaux wine country, Edouard le Grix de la Salle can sometimes smell the burning forests far away. The smoke brings a whiff of hardship for the region's economic fortunes.
Wildfires that have burned an area four times the size of Paris and driven 220,000 people from homes and some of the region's tourist attractions promise to sting France's already squeezed economy.
“It’s a physical apocalypse when you see all these sites where there’s nothing left aside from burnt homes and forests, and then there’s the economic apocalypse,” said Patrick Seguin, president of the regional chamber of commerce, his voice choking with emotion in a phone interview.
It's “going to be a stab in the back for what remains of our economy.”
Le Grix de la Salle is among entrepreneurs bracing for pain. French government appeals for people to avoid the region are causing consternation.
“It’s incredible that they’ve said such a thing, especially when wine tourism is becoming more and more important,” Le Grix de la Salle said.
Bordeaux’s legendary wine has seen consumption plunge as young people turn to other beverages and competition from vineyards abroad has grown. U.S. President Donald Trump ’s tariffs have given winemakers — and much of the global economy — an added hangover.
“The wine business has been in crisis for several years now and it’s worsening with the geopolitical problems, the now widespread problems of inflation and the fact that wine is falling out of fashion among younger people,” Le Grix de la Salle said.
“Tourism was really the only dynamic part of the business that was still growing, both for us and, more generally, for Bordeaux wines,” he said. “And now this comes along as a brake.”
His family's Grand Verdus wine estate is roughly 35 kilometers (20 miles) from the fires that have raged since last week on the other side of the Garonne River that runs through Bordeaux. Bordeaux's Gironde region is mainland France’s largest by area and the fires have hit only a small percentage of it. But the mark on its reputation is sizable.
“How did they not think about protecting that sector? And the cultural sector, too. There’s so much to visit in Bordeaux. There are so many museums, there are châteaux. It’s unbelievable,” Le Grix de la Salle said.
The region in southwest France is replete with vacation spots for tourists lured by soft-sand beaches, winemaking châteaux, some of France's largest pine forests and the historic city of Bordeaux, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The oyster-rich Arcachon Bay draws foodies. But the fire and evacuations have emptied some prime spots.
The chamber of commerce says 39,000 businesses have been affected in the region that's a hub of defense and aerospace industries, including Airbus, Dassault and Thales.
Even before the fires, the chamber of commerce said rising energy costs were squeezing profits. Some 94% of businesses responding to a poll of regional enterprises in mid-July said they face difficulties.
“We’re getting more and more calls from heads of small- and medium-sized businesses, tiny businesses and craft businesses that are calling for help and saying, ‘What am I going to do tomorrow?’” Seguin said.
Two commercial courts in the cities of Bordeaux and Libourne reported a 37% increase in business liquidations from June 2025 to the same month this year, he noted.
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said some restaurateurs told him that reservations have plummeted. He is pushing back against other officials' pleas that people avoid the region. He repeatedly has noted that the city hasn't been evacuated and isn't closed for business.
“The museums are open, the cafes and restaurants are open,” he said. “Life also goes on in our beautiful city.”
Keaten reported from Lyon, France, and Leicester reported from Paris.
