France launched what it billed a 15-billion-euro ($17 billion) support plan for its aerospace industry on Tuesday, accelerating research on a green jetliner and warning 100,000 French jobs could be lost due to the coronavirus crisis. The plans – which include 7 billion euros of aid already awarded to Air France and bring forward some defence spending – involve a joint effort by government and industry to keep French jobs and prepare the next generation of civil jets. The plans include a 1-billion-euro investment fund with an initial capital of 500 million euros, partly financed by planemakers Airbus and Dassault Aviation, engine maker Safran and systems firm Thales.
