The strong euro is harming French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation's chances of selling the Rafale combat aircraft abroad, owner Serge Dassault told i-Tele in an interview on Sunday. Dassault, who is also a conservative politician, said the company had the political support it needed to sell the Rafale abroad, thanks to President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"But we still have a political enemy, the United States, which does everything it can to ensure we don't sell anything anywhere, which cuts its prices," he said. The company is in talks to sell the fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates and to Brazil, where it is competing against Boeing's F-18 and Saab's Gripen NG.
"We have problems because we are in fierce competition ... and above all because from a pricing point of view, we are more expensive, it's true." The strong euro was also a problem when it came to selling its Falcon business jets, Dassault said, adding that currency effects were also holding back wider European exports.
"With the recession sales of private aircraft to all clients stopped almost completely. It's picking up again now, but there is a problem there - it's the euro," Dassault said.
"It's not just me, it harms all European exports. The euro is too strong, it must be devalued it is preventing Europe from developing its exports," he added.
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