Recent public attacks on business aviation have sought to portray the industry as exhibiting unwarranted privilege at a time when so many are suffering in the economic crisis. In few places is the contrast between wealth and poverty more apparent than across the fence at Paris Le Bourget Airport, but local French officials are here in Geneva this week to highlight the positive aspects of the paradoxical relationship between that bastion of private aviation and the underprivileged neighborhoods surrounding it.
Economic development agency Seine-Saint-Denis Avenir (SSDA) is exhibiting here at EBACE (Booth No. 1532) showcasing local talent and seeking to attract more firms to the French département of Seine-Saint-Denis, one of the poorest districts in the country. The agency–currently staffed by 11 and expected to grow to 14–wants residents to be able to tap into the opportunities at Le Bourget, and at the same time, SSDA president Francis Dubrac believes the community has much to offer companies wanting to establish bases near Paris.
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