Snecma and GE create CFM International

Snecma enters the commercial aviation engine market by signing a partnership agreement with General Electric Aircraft Engines to make the CFM56 turbofan, via their joint company, CFM International. The previous year, during the historic summit meeting in Reykjavik, Presidents Georges Pompidou and Richard Nixon had already laid the foundations for this partnership, which is still going on and has been renewed in 2008 until 2040. The CFM56 today remains the best selling aicraft engine in the world.