«In France, we have historically champion sectors, such as automobiles, nuclear power and aeronautics.recalls Guillaume Faury. Some have not been supported as they should be at the French and European level. They are paying the price today and this is what we must avoid.» And added: “too many charges, too many regulations, too many constraints, too many taxes, causing sectors to disappear […]. We risk seeing many companies go and do what they know how to do elsewhere, because it becomes unsustainable.».
At the beginning of December, Olivier Andriès, the general director of Safran, also announced that his future carbon brake factory – an investment of 400 million euros – risked landing in the United States or Canada and not in France, due to lack of a stable and competitive environment.
Aeronautics, the leading contributor to the French trade balance
Behind the wrath of Guillaume Faury, a series of measures aimed at reducing the State debt which could tilt the competitiveness of the aeronautics industry. Surtax on large companies, increase in the tax on plane tickets, increase in corporate tax, reduction in apprenticeship aid, possible reduction of the research tax credit (CIR)… “The sector must not be used as a scapegoat or a cash cow to repair state finances», criticized Guillaume Faury, also citing European constraints. Added to these burdens is a worrying international context, between geopolitical instability, growing American protectionism and increased competition from emerging markets.
A situation all the more unfair, from the point of view of the president of Gifas, as the aeronautics sector constitutes a pillar of French industry: it remains the 1is contributor to the country’s trade surplus, with 30.8 billion euros in 2023. As for the automobile industry, its trade balance went from +10 to -20 billion euros in France between the start of the 2000s and today.
In 2023 and 2024, around half of GDP growth in France can be explained by growth in aeronautical exports, according to Gifas data. “But the sector is also the most harvested in France in absolute value, and second in relative value, i.e. 29.5% of the added value.», insisted Guillaume Faury. In 2023, compulsory deductions increased for the sector by 12% in 2023, to the tune of 11.4 billion euros.
Vigilance on aid for innovation
This risk of loss of competitiveness comes at a time when the French aeronautics sector has returned to a level close to pre-Covid, faces unprecedented demand and must invest to successfully decarbonize air transport. Airbus has some 8,700 aircraft in its order book, representing ten years of visibility at the current production rate. The aircraft manufacturer hopes in particular to reach the rate of 75 A320s delivered per month during 2027, compared to a monthly average of nearly 50 aircraft in 2023.
-A dynamic that is driving recruitment upwards: the sector plans to hire 25,000 people this year (including 6,000 apprentices), compared to 28,000 last year – figures close to pre-crisis levels. Furthermore, the number of Gifas members is increasing, from 427 at the start of 2024 to 485 today. The threshold of 500 members should be crossed on the 1stis semester.
What does the Gifas boss recommend to keep the aeronautical sector afloat? That the State does not reduce its participation in Corac, which manages part of the R&D in the sector via public and private funds. While the commitment provided for an envelope of 300 million euros per year between 2024 and 2027, it could be reduced to 230 million euros in 2025. Guillaume Faury also pleads for the maintenance of the CIR (which represents 700 million euros for the aeronautical sector). With a total of one billion euros per year, this State contribution represents 19% of the sector’s R&D efforts.
Cash flow sometimes put to the test
Other recommendations put forward: support for the emergence of a sustainable aviation fuel sector, a non-increase in the Solidarity Tax on Airline Tickets (TSBA), an end to increases in charges, the maintaining funding for the Military Programming Law (which will cost 3.3 billion euros in 2025) and loosening the regulatory grip in France and Europe. So many measures expected by a sector sitting on a pile of gold, but which faces sometimes delicate financial situations for certain suppliers and foreign competitors who are much less constrained.
Between the need to invest and recruit on the one hand, but the urgent need to repay loans guaranteed by the State (500 million euros in total) and the inflationary environment on the other hand, the treasuries of subcontractors are put to the test. Not to mention that the level of productivity remains below that of 2019. Certainly, the annual study by the Banque de France – carried out on behalf of Gifas – shows an improvement in growth (+9%) and profitability in 2023. However, 40 major equipment manufacturers presented a risk of failure that year, as L’Usine Nouvelle revealed last October.
