Carrying on an established tradition, French President Jacques Chirac officially opened the world’s largest air show this morning. President Chirac arrived at Le Bourget about 10:00 am, and visited the stands of leading French and European prime contractors to congratulate them on their success in global markets. One of his stops was of course at the SAFRAN group stand, where he was welcomed by Jean-Paul Béchat, Chairman of the Executive Board, at 10:55 am.

Accompanied by his official retinue, Jacques Chirac reviewed some of the group’s main achievements, starting with the Propulsion branch. Both Jean-Paul Béchat and branch head Jean-Paul Herteman were his guides on this tour, which included the Snecma M88-2 and M53-P2 engines that power the Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters, respectively. Next, President Chirac got a closer look at SAFRAN’s rocket engines: the Vulcain 2 and HM7B cryogenic engines for Ariane 5 ECA, the Vinci® upper-stage cryogenic engine now under development by Snecma, and the nozzle built by Snecma Propulsion Solide for the Vega launcher. His visit continued with close-up looks at the SaM146 regional aircraft engine (for the RRJ), the innovative S5305-230 diesel engine for general aviation, and the best-selling CFM56 for Boeing and Airbus jetliners. The visit ended with Turbomeca’s helicopter turboshaft engines and Microturbo’s jet engines for missiles.

At 11:25 am, President Chirac, still flanked by defense minister Michèle Alliot-Marie and transport minister Dominique Perben, caught up with Jean-Paul Béchat to check out the Equipment branch. Guided by branch head Dominique Hédon, President Chirac discovered the vast scope of group companies’ contributions to major aircraft programs, including the A400M, Tiger, A380, 787 Dreamliner, RRJ and Rafale. Highlighted on these stands were Messier-Dowty landing gear, Messier-Bugatti braking systems, an Aircelle A380 nacelle, ventilation and filtration systems by Technofan and Sofrance, and a palette of products from Hispano-Suiza – engine controls, power transmissions, ETRAS, etc.

Jacques Chirac then headed for the Sagem Defense Security stand, outside the main halls between the static display and the hospitality chalets. A number of the branch’s products were on display, presented by Executive Vice President and branch head Jacques Paccard. President Chirac was very enthused by the branch’s products and services, including an entirely modernized Mirage 5, a range of drone systems, the Félin uniform for tomorrow’s soldiers and Gerfault helmet-mounted displays for Rafale pilots. Before leaving the stand, Jacques Chirac congratulated everybody there: “Bravo! You do excellent work and our country can really be proud of you!”