French President Emmanuel Macron endorsed plans for a European satellite manufacturing powerhouse and urged faster deployment of Starlink-like satellites, declaring space he new theatre for world power and key arena for global power competition. According to a report by Reuters, speaking at the Paris Airshow, after France moved to take control of Eutelsat, a Starlink rival, Macron outlined a strategy to challenge U.S. billionaire Elon Musk’s expansive rocket-to-telecoms empire, emphasizing a robust push across launchers, manufacturing, and services.
"At the intersection of all these public and private questions, as well as civil, military, scientific and industrial ones, space has in some way become a gauge of international power," Macron told delegates, according to Reuters.
The Airshow, set against the backdrop of Israel-Iran tensions, focused on geopolitical and trade issues rather than typical jetliner orders, with space taking center stage on Friday, Reuters noted. Europe, a leader in Earth observation, has lagged behind the U.S. and China in the strategic space domain, losing independent orbital access for over a year in 2023 due to technical issues, delays, and severed Russian ties over Ukraine, which ended Soyuz rocket use.
Europe lags way behind US and China in Space Tech
Despite being the world’s top satellite exporter, Europe’s key manufacturers—Airbus and a Thales-Leonardo partnership—face profitability challenges and aim to consolidate, Reuters said. Macron voiced strong support: "They have our full support and confidence. I want us to build this new champion as soon as possible." He added, "This is what will allow us, as Europeans, to have the scale to improve competitiveness and volume. It’s a sector consolidation."
Driven by competition from Musk’s cost-effective Starlink satellites and a shift from high-orbit bespoke satellites, Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo are exploring a joint venture, codenamed Project Bromo, though past consolidation attempts were blocked by competition concerns, Reuters reported.
Russia-Ukraine conflict showed importance of Space tech
The strategic importance of satellite services, underscored by Ukraine’s conflict, prompted France to invest $1.55 billion in Eutelsat, boosting its shares, Reuters noted. However, European space budgets pale compared to U.S. and Chinese spending, with the U.S. holding nearly two-thirds of the global space budget in 2023, while Europe accounted for just 11%, per the European Space Agency.
Macron’s space ambitions face fiscal constraints as France grapples with public finance control after last year’s spending surge, Reuters said. Jean-Pierre Darnis, an associate fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research, told Reuters, "Partnership between public and private capital will be needed and this requires a considerable effort."
The Airshow also reflected Europe’s push for sovereignty amid doubts about U.S. security commitments, with Vago Muradian, founder of the Defense & Aerospace Report, quoted by Reuters saying, "The big story of this show is sovereignty in the wake of some of the statements by (Trump) questioning U.S. commitment to Europe and to NATO."
Europe’s defense spending is rising, and some suppliers are offering "ITAR-free" products to bypass U.S. export controls, a senior European industry official told Reuters. Meanwhile, the commercial side of the show was subdued after an Air India Boeing 787 crash, with Boeing avoiding announcements while Airbus and Embraer secured deals earlier, Reuters reported.
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