Nouvelle Aquitaine: France’s New Growth Powerhouse ?

Is Nouvelle-Aquitaine becoming France’s new frontier for economic growth?

During an event organized by Sud Ouest / TV7, Vincent Guibout, CEO of FLYING WHALES, shared his perspective on the key challenges of reindustrialization in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

It was an opportunity to highlight that reindustrialization means:

• Developing and mastering a technology until it can be manufactured at scale, a process that requires a long-term vision and commitment. France has successfully achieved this in the past with the Rafale fighter jet.

This remains just as relevant today. The development of the electric vehicle industry is a recent and compelling example. Airships were identified as a strategic industry for France as early as 2014, as part of the 24 initiatives of the Nouvelle France Industrielle program, and the FLYING WHALES project was launched in 2017.

Today, the technologies have been developed and validated. The assembly of the first airship will begin shortly, the regulatory framework has been established, a training school for these new professions has opened in Agen, market demand has been confirmed, and the financing framework is now in place.

• Operating in an increasingly complex environment: building an industrial facility requires obtaining nearly ten different permits and approvals. This demands expertise, coordination, and capabilities across a wide range of disciplines beyond manufacturing itself.

The construction of our plant in Laruscade will mark a major milestone: the emergence of a new aerospace industry built for the future, made possible through the decisive support of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region.