In order to be competitive, French high-tech industries have to take on board advances in electronics, microelectronics, information technology, biotechnology, nuclear engineering and composite materials. These technologies have applications in both new and traditional industries which they are helping to modernise. It is also largely thanks to Ariane that the European space programme has recorded many successes in the observation and communications sciences. If we look at the numbers of aircraft ordered by carriers in 1997 and 1998, Airbus is almost on a level with its great American rival, Boeing, the world leader in aircraft construction. The Franco-German company Eurocopter is the world's leading helicopter manufacturer.
Energy is another area in which French technology excels.
France is a major player in every area of the nuclear power sector - supply of fuel, electricity production and reprocessing of nuclear waste. It has the world's largest nuclear waste reprocessing plant in the Hague in Normandy and its expertise is clearly recognised by countries as demanding as Germany, Sweden and Japan. This industry has demonstrated by its reliability and security that protection of the environment does not have to be sacrificed in order to keep energy costs down. France also has proven expertise in conventional energy production and exports its technology and skills by building hydroelectric and conventional power stations, particularly those equipped with the new combined-cycle gas turbines which have been especially successful in many other countries. French research in petroleum exploration and petrochemical processes and related engineering skills have helped establish the French oil industry in many regions of the world.