French billionaire politician Olivier Dassault dies in helicopter crash
- French President Emmanuel Macron led tributes, saying in a tweet that ‘Olivier Dassault loved France’
- The Dassault Aviation group is behind the Falcon private jet, the Mirage warplane and, most recently, the state-of-the art Rafale fighter
French billionaire Olivier Dassault, a politician and scion of the Dassault aircraft-making family, was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
Dassault, 69 and a father-of-three, died around 6pm local time when his helicopter crashed near the upmarket coastal resort of Deauville in northwest France, parliamentary and investigation sources said.
French President Emmanuel Macron led tributes, saying in a tweet that “Olivier Dassault loved France. Captain of industry, local MP, reserve commander in the air force; throughout his life he never stopped serving our country”.
Macron called his death “a great loss” and sent his condolences to the Dassault family, one of the most influential in France with interests spanning aeronautics, defence, auctioneering, wine and the media.
The Dassault Aviation group has been a leading French plane manufacturer for the past 70 years and is behind the Falcon private jet, the Mirage warplane, and most recently the state-of-the art Rafale fighter.