This week, La Loupe has chosen to focus on the French flagship of aeronautics, Dassault, which recently changed direction. A discreet reorganization of power for a company which has only had four bosses in almost a century. In this episode, Béatrice Mathieu, a senior reporter specializing in the economy at L’Express, tells us the inside story of this unprecedented transfer of power.
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The team: Charlotte Baris (presentation), Léa Bertrand (writing) Jules Krot (editing and production)
Credits: France 5, Europe 1, Télé Loisirs, Le Monde
Music and dressing: Emmanuel Herschon/Studio Torrent
Logo: Jérémy Cambour
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Charlotte Baris: To start our series, I’m taking you to 9 Rond-Point des Champs-Elysées in Paris. This is where we enter the heart of the Dassault empire. You have to push the wrought iron gates and climb a few stone steps. Here we are in the entrance hall of the Espeyran hotel.
On the wall, we see one of the last examples of the “Eclair” propeller, the first invention in 1916 by Marcel Dassault, the founder of the group. Below, his portrait aligned with those of his sons, Claude and Serge, and that of one of his grandsons, Olivier.
There are also a lot of photos of planes. Photos of Olivier Dassault in one of the work rooms. If you walk further down the corridor, you find yourself in the office that Serge Dassault once occupied. Since his death on May 28, 2018, the room has remained unoccupied. And none of his children will settle there, the patriarch has made sure of that…
How can we perpetuate the legacy of a man who built a colossal empire, between aviation, digital industry and political influence? Today, we tell you what is at stake in this succession for Dassault.
To go further:
Dassault, a political family: the fall of the heir, their relations with the presidents…
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