Aviation in France The national carrier of France is Air France, a full service global airline which flies to 20 domestic destinations and 150 international destinations in 83 countries (including Overseas departments and territories of France) across all 6 major continents. The history of French aviation began at the beginning of the 20th century. The French had been involved in human flight since 1783, when François Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes flew over Paris in the first human flight in a Hot air balloon. On 7 January 1785 Jean-Pierre Blanchard crossed the English Channel, from Dover to Calais, on board a hydrogen balloon.
Sophie Blanchard and Blanchard's story were relegated to the margins of aviation history. A novel inspired by Blanchard's story, Linda Donn's "The Little Balloonist", was published in 2006. a. As Comte de Provence, Louis had earlier been a patron of balloon pioneer Pilâtre de Rozier, who had been the victim of the first fatal ballooning accident on 15 June 1785. b. Most sources do not mention the number of the house but some say number 15 or number 16, and some claim the building was a hotel. </div> Sophie Blanchard Sophie Blanchard (25 March 1778 – 6 July 1819), commonly referred to