Dassault Aviation becomes a Patron of the Order of Liberation - Seite 2

The aviation and defense industry owes much of its current success to industrial Gaullism. France's great champions, including Dassault Aviation, have inherited from political governance aiming to restore a sovereign ecosystem for France built on national independence and deterrence. "If France must carry a sword, it must be her own".

This patriotism and economic sovereignty, put back on the agenda by the crisis our country is facing, run through Dassault Aviation's blood. As an industrial actor, the great majority of our teams work on the national territory, where we pay our taxes, where our employees are consumers and pay their taxes, and where our facilities contribute to the economic development of many regions of France.

Charles de Gaulle and Marcel Dassault shared a social vision of the role of business. They were very much in favor of profit-sharing, established by the former and thoroughly implemented by the latter. At Dassault Aviation, an agreement dating back to 1959 organizes profit-sharing in four almost equal shares: one for shareholders, one for corporate income tax and one for the employees, the last one being retained by the company. This is a cornerstone of Dassault's model.

General de Gaulle also left us a European legacy, a legacy of French-German cooperation, with the Elysée Treaty. We must pursue these efforts to build European strategic independence so that together, countries in Europe can take control of their future while remaining sovereign. The FCAS (Future Combat Air System) project is part of this process, to give participating European countries the benefit of proprietary military systems. Because as the General taught us, unless we have our own resources, there is no freedom of action. And sovereignty is pure illusion. We are therefore working with our German and Spanish partners to prepare the future of combat aviation in Europe. We are proud of our prime contractor role on the New Generation Fighter (NGF) of which the first demonstrator phase was launched in January. This program will enable us to continue the great aviation adventure for the sovereignty and independence of France in the context of a Europe that protects.