Powerful German union calls for Dassault's expulsion from fighter jet programme

Dassault Aviation SA

10/12/2025 10:22

IG Metall union says Dassault can no longer be trusted

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By Sabine Siebold and Alexander Hübner

BERLIN, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Germany's powerful IG Metall union has raised the stakes in Franco-German fighter talks, threatening to stop cooperating if France's Dassault remains part of the program.

Such a decision is unlikely without a high level political decision but the union's intervention is the latest sign of deteriorating relations between German and French industries over the troubled project ahead of ministerial talks to try to break an impasse on Thursday.

"We are happy to collaborate with French businesses but not with Dassault", IG Metall's deputy chief Juergen Kerner said in a strongly worded letter addressed to German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, dated December 8 and seen by Reuters.

"We stand by European cooperation and the Franco-German friendship. But Dassault is trampling over both for selfish reasons."

A spokesperson for the defence ministry in Berlin confirmed the receipt of letter from IG Metall but declined to elaborate on its content.

 (Reporting by Sabine Siebold in Berlin, Alexander Huebner in Munich and Tim Hepher in London, Editing by Madeline Chambers)