"Military aviation is the main problem as there will only be one European fighter aircraft," Lagardere, who is also co-chairman of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), said in an interview with French daily Les Echos.

"Therefore, we need to find an accord and even cooperate more closely with Dassault," he was quoted as saying.

He said the Lagardere and Dassault families would meet at the Paris Air Show, which opens Saturday at the Le Bourget airport north of Paris.

Lagardere also said he expects an upturn in the aviation industry soon.

"We have to acknowledge that there have been so many extraordinary and dramatic events and that the current crisis will not last," he said.

WAR.WIRE