On 25 May 2013, François d’Agay, President of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, and his Secretary-General, Nicolas Delsalle, signed an official partnership agreement with the Chief of Staff of the French Air Force, General Denis Mercier, under the high patronage of the French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, at Air Base 701 in Salon-de-Provence.

This ceremony took place in the presence of numerous civilian and military personalities during the 60th anniversary celebrations of the famous Patrouille de France (the precision aerobatic demonstration team of the French Air Force).

This unique partnership between our two institutions, which share common values, mainly aims to develop concrete actions in favour of disadvantaged youth, within the framework of the Army-Nation plan and the equal opportunity programme, while perpetuating the memory of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and the traditions of the French Air Force:

On 12 March 1950, in the Official Journal, Major Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is cited in the order of the Air Force posthumously to have “proved in 1940 and 1943 his passion to serve and his faith in the destiny of his homeland”, and “found a glorious death on 31 July 1944 upon his return from a distant reconnaissance mission over his country occupied by the enemy”.