2023-06-24 09:35:25
At the Paris Air Show,
Forget the obvious. Yes, of course, since he looks at the sky, man has dreamed of flying: Icarus, Leonardo da Vinci, and even “the child with the eyes of lights who sees the birds passing in the distance”, to use our last victory at Eurovision. But at the Paris Air Show, which reopens its doors to the public following four years of shutdown, the plane is less a dream than a real rock star. And the eyes of the public are more tinted with the fascination of a teenager who would cross his favorite singer than with the candor of a brat. Here, the Rafale plays the role of Miley Cyrus, the A380 looks like Harry Styles, and the Patrouille de France show is more anticipated than that of BTS.
The filiation begins at Le Bourget station, where the RER constantly pukes new hordes of fans, in a hurry to meet their idols. We are closer to a concert than a simple exhibition hall.
Civilian planes fascinate here as much as military planes – JLD / 20 Minutes
To see all these stars, some are ready to pay the price – and to go for miles. Michel came down from Belgium for the occasion. “Gift from my wife for my 60th birthday,” he smiles, glancing at her with an eye moved by this attention. But beware with tears in his eye, because the man is determined to make the stay profitable by opening his peepers well. ” I want to see all ! “, he continues to ignite.
His eyes are already sparkling with champagne bubbles “just” following a photo with the show’s official mascot, so imagine when he comes across his favorite superstar: the Rafale – his cap with the effigy of the fighter plane was a good clue. “Since I was little, I have been fascinated by military aircraft. To see them in real life, to attend an air show in the stands, it’s crazy…”.
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At Le Bourget, aviation seems light years away from the Covid-19 crisis and the existential crisis it is going through for its ecological balance – a Paris-New York round trip represents 1.75 tonnes of CO2, or almost all of the annual emissions to which a French person should limit himself in order to meet climate objectives. A questioning that is quickly forgotten on the tarmac, in front of the spectacle of racing cars splitting the sky. “We wouldn’t see so many people for trains,” jeers Jérémie, the incisive reply so as not to give his hot dog time to cool. And as for global warming, “find me another way to get to Tunisia in two hours, and OK, I’ll stop flying.”
Happy like Michel who had a good trip – JLD / 20 Minutes
This attraction for the giants of the skies is exported well beyond Le Bourget. Air traffic has resumed its pre-Covid rhythm, and Boeing, like Airbus, is counting on a doubling of the world fleet within twenty years. And if there are many stands extolling the ecological efforts to come, or the “green” plane of the future, they attract less crowds than the good old kerosene monsters. Here, no one wants to dent the stars of their teenage years.
“Te-ma the size of the wings”
Because it’s not every day that you can picnic in the shade of an Airbus wing, discover old cuckoo clocks from the Second World War or argue on the phone in an almost surreal dialogue:
– No, we didn’t say we were in front of the Mirage but in front of the Rafale! I am waiting for you ! »
Audrey goes to the Paris Air Show every year, especially for one of its stars: the Rafale. – JLD/20 Minutes
Even when the air monsters aren’t in demo and remain solidly grounded, they elicit ecstatic feedback. “Té-ma the size of the wings”, “can we visit? », « It’s a real A-380, it’s huge!!! “. Audrey takes advantage of living in Ile-de-France to come every time the show opens, without getting tired. “To think that these monsters weighing several tons manage to take off and fly, it’s magic. And then the idea of being in the sky… How to get tired of it? “, she asks with a smile.
The dazzling blue sky allows him as much to admire the iron and bone myths as to put on his sunglasses à la Top Gun. And as long as we are in the classic, his favorite planes: the A-380 “which unfortunately no longer flies much”, the boeing 747, “the queen of planes”, Madonna giant version of the skies, and the Rafale, ” jewel of technology” and undisputed star of the show. The wait to test out the fighter jet’s flight simulator is longer than at Space Mountain at Disneyland. As for the real planes, exhibited at the Dassault stand, the security guards keep breaking the hearts of fans by announcing “that you can only go inside by official invitation”.
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“If I had to start my life over once more, if I hadn’t been a cop, I would have been a fighter pilot,” says Fabrice, 47. This is his first at Le Bourget: “I had never been able to go there and I thought it was a shame”. And despite the price of the beer and the hot dog – 20 bucks all the same – the policeman who dreamed of the skies is “impressed, in particular by the quality of the machining of the parts in the warehouses. It is an impressive job”. Here, everything fascinates, even the details.
One more big plane for the satisfaction of the crowd – JLD / 20 Minutes
Proof of this is that 180,000 visitors are expected over the whole weekend. The classrooms were not mistaken either, and hordes of children accompanied by very patient teachers flocked to the tarmac. “We won’t see Thomas Pesquet? exclaims a student, particularly disappointed. At the Paris Air Show, the sky still fascinates. But faced with the ever-increasing desires of men – and children – it is almost no longer enough.
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