Visitors to the international aeronautics and space show in Le Bourget, June 19, 2023 near Paris (POOL/AFP/Ludovic MARIN)
“So! What do we start with?” : between a flying Renault, with 4L areas, and a poster of a fighter pilot in his cockpit, difficult to choose for the many visitors, eager to be amazed at the Paris Air Show, open to the general public on Saturday .
“It’s extraordinary! We come to enjoy our day”, savors Cheyenne Lejeune, 30, in the line in full sun to visit the hold of the A400M military transport plane, at the stand of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, with three friends .
An A400M military transport plane at the Le Bourget aeronautics and space show on June 18, 2023 near Paris (AFP / JULIEN DE ROSA)
“Afterwards we will see the A80 and the A50!” (the A380 and the A350, Ed), explains, enthusiastic, this employee of the aeronautics industry in Toulouse.
An international public, family and also including many young couples went from the opening at 8:30 am to Le Bourget airport, 9km north-east of Paris.
For this edition “of recovery” after the Covid-19 epidemic, placed under the sign of decarbonization, the show, accessible to the public this weekend, expects nearly 320,000 visitors over the week.
No less than 158 aircraft are on display: drones and helicopters, from wide-body aircraft to World War II fighters, including the American F-35 or a US Air Force supersonic strategic bomber.
Guaranteed success for the public, the presentation of weapons and equipment by French soldiers, around the A400M Atlas aircraft and desert camouflage vehicles.
Visitors admire a demonstration flight of an F-35 Lockheed Martin during the international air and space show in Le Bourget, June 21, 2023 near Paris (AFP / JULIEN DE ROSA)
Between different aircraft and military vehicles, a space dedicated to private jets intrigues visitors, who have the opportunity to enter inside.
“I didn’t think there would be private jets here,” admits Kévin Modestin, 32 and a Thalès employee. According to him, this exhibition is contradictory with “the big efforts (energy, editor’s note) that are asked of us”.
“I expected large planes, military and line aircraft”, aircraft that interest “everyone”, he explains.
– The “show” first –
On the other side of the central aisle that irrigates the show, a white marquee houses “Paris Airlab”, a stand dedicated to carbon-free innovations, but does not have the same success.
An Airbus A400M Atlas during a demonstration flight at the Le Bourget International Aeronautics and Space Show on June 21, 2023 near Paris (AFP / ERIC PIERMONT)
“Ah! That looks pretty good: +towards a carbon-free trip+” exclaims a passer-by, before her friend, less enthusiastic, redirects them in the direction of the devices on display.
In this white and bright stand it is nevertheless possible to admire, among other things, the model of the “Flying Wing”, an Airbus aircraft prototype whose diamond shape should save up to 20% fuel.
“We learn what researchers are doing to move towards decarbonization”, explains Emma Belaïd, a 13-year-old girl who came for the first time with her grandfather because she thinks “to study in the scientific field”.
“It’s the show that wants that, people come to have fun, to see planes, not necessarily to train!”, Observes Sadek Belaïd, the 71-year-old grandfather, himself a former scientist.
“It is important to see that for decarbonization, they are attacking the source of energy, the shape of the fuselage…”, comments Mr. Belaïd. “We may not completely eliminate the impact (ecological, editor’s note) but we can reduce it”.
Even if part of the industry, in search of “performance” will continue to “consume a lot of fuel, real, hard”, he notes.
A Rafel aircraft during a demonstration flight at the international aeronautics and space show in Le Bourget, June 23, 2023 near Paris (AFP / Christophe ARCHAMBAULT)
Far from ecological considerations, most visitors are mainly there for the show.
“I looked a lot at the Diamond Aircraft aircraft (specialized in particular in small single and twin engines, editor’s note)”, explains, at the crossroads of two aisles Olivier Vidal, 26 years old.
“It’s the brand of the first plane in which I flew,” recalls this watchmaker retraining to become a pilot.
“But above all, I am here for the + Airshows +”, the high-flying demonstrations which in the afternoon attract all the attention of the public, on the tarmac as in the stands.
© 2023 AFP
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