Parras

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Parras (pä´räs), formerly Parras de la Fuente (pä´räs dā lä fwān´tā), city (1990 pop. 26,160), Coahuila state, N Mexico. It is a road and rail junction located in a well-watered valley of a semiarid region. Parras, an agricultural center, has orchards and vineyards that make the city famous for wines and brandies. Cattle raising and cotton and flour milling are also important. In 1846, during the Mexican War, Parras was held by U.S. troops. French forces were defeated there (1866) in the French intervention.