As a consequence of the peace dividend following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, much of the European aerospace and defence industry began to consolidate, with Aérospatiale's break-up accelerated by the French government's efforts to privatize many state-owned companies.

In 1992, Aérospatiale and Germany's DASA each spun off their helicopter businesses, which merged together to form the Eurocopter Group, with the two parent companies holding 70% and 30% ownership of the new entity respectively.

One year later, in 2001, Aérospatiale-Matra merged with DASA and Spain's Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) to form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), later rebranded Airbus.

[10] In 1971, Aérospatiale was managed by the French industrialist Henri Ziegler; that same year, the firm's North American marketing and sales arm, which had previously operated under the trading name of the French Aerospace Corporation, was officially rebranded as the European Aerospace Corporation, which was intended to better reflect Aérospatiale's increasing focus on collaborative efforts with its European partners.

However, Aérospatiale continued to manufacture the airliner without orders, as it could not reasonably cut back production as French law required that laid-off employees were to receive 90 per cent of their pay for a year as well as to retain their health benefits throughout.

[10] Sales of the A300 picked up and the type eventually became a major commercial success, subsequently driving both the American Lockheed L-1011 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 from the market due to its cheaper operating model.

[10] On the back of this success, further airliners would be produced under the Airbus brand and the company would become a world leader in the field of large commercial aircraft during the 1990s.

[10] During the 1960s, Sud Aviation had been involved in a multinational European programme to produce the Europa space launch vehicle, this being a three-stage rocket with the separate stages being manufactured in Britain, France, and Germany respectively.

Ariane was an immediate success, allowing the French to gain a strong advantage over the United States, which had centred its efforts on the Space Shuttle.

[12] During the late 1990s, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government initiated a policy towards the privatization of Aérospatiale.