Invest in France Agency international Office

A vibrant industry

The worldwide aerospace industry is very R&D intense, with highly internationalized markets, and is based around several companies that are skilled in the required key technologies, in a relatively small number of countries. Although products and services are extremely diverse – military aircraft, helicopters, space vehicles, maintenance, private jets – the most important market remains civil aviation.

Leaders in their field

The aerospace sector is structured around ten groups that are all at the forefront, or are world leaders, in their field: EADS/Airbus, leader in civil aircraft manufacturing, on a par with Boeing; Safran, leader worldwide for motors;Turbomeca, n°1 worldwide for helicopter engines; Eurocopter, subsidiary of EADS, leading helicopter manufacturer worldwide, with its Tigra and Puma programs in particular; Dassault Aviation, leader worldwide for private jets with its Falcon program, and leading player in military aviation with the Rafale; Ariespace, among the world leaders in the satellite market; Thalès Electronics, Alcatel Alenia Space, etc. These companies rely on a network of hundreds of subcontractors and suppliers who are at the forefront of specialized fields such as embedded IT, guidance and detection systems, or composite materials.

Highly qualified workforce

The quality of the workforce is of extreme importance in a sector where the personnel is made up of 60% engineers and management personnel. Highly esteemed specialist schools including: Sup’Aero, Ensica, Enac, Ensma, provide training for top level engineers.

Intense research and developpement activity

French aerospace companies invest more than 16% of their turnover in R&D activities, which is more than their counterparts in other major competitor countries. Private R&D expenditure amounts to 2.3 billion euros, which enables 15,600 people

French aerospace companies invest more than 16% of their turnover in R&D activies.

to be employed including 8,400 research scientists. Public bodies are also very active, particularly the Onera (2,000 employees including 1,500 research scientists), the CNES (which actively participates
in European Space Agency programs), as well as the CNRT (Centres Nationaux de Recherche et Technologies Specialisés – National centers for specialized research and technology). Sectors in which French research excels include: propulsion and combustion, composite materials, aerodynamics, acoustics, embedded electronic and IT systems. The CATIA (Computer graphic aided three-dimensional interactive application) software is just one example of a “success story”: initially created by Dassault Aviation for in-house use, the system became increasingly successful on the international market.

France, a welcoming country

There are many foreign companies operating in France, including both European consortiums with French participation (EADS, ATR, etc.), and independent subcontractors and suppliers. They account for 47% of total turnover in this sector
today. Around 50 different suppliers from all over the world are involved for example in the design of the A380 aircraft. Many foreign companies, particularly US companies, were involved in the design of the Falcon aircraft.