The French aerospace industry has reported record sales of €65.4bn (+1.2%) for 2018, including €44bn in export sales (stable), which represented 85% of consolidated sales. Civil sales accounted for 77% of the total, according to Eric Trappier, president of French aerospace industries association GIFAS.

Orders dropped €58.2bn (–17%) due to an order slowdown in the civil sector compared with preceding years. GIFAS describes the slowdown as a pause after a series of years with strong orders, while production ramps up to meet market demand in line with air traffic growth forecasts.

2018 also marked a banner year in terms of jobs — the French workforce reached 195,000 (vs. 190,000 the previous year), with 15,000 new hires and a net total of 4,000 jobs created.

Trappier also underlined the leading role of the French space sector in Europe, emphasising that growth in the sector is due to exports and commercial sales, while its competitors benefit from captive institutional contracts. He called for aeronautics to become a strategic industrial priority for the European Union.