Quote: "Paris has two airports and 'dirigiste' is a French word. If the government wants someting done, like building Roissy/CDG on a greenfield site, it will get done (as long as the unions don't take to the highways to block it)."
Roissy opened in 1974, Le Bourget closed, but not Orly. Conditions are completely different to the situation today in the UK.
1. Both airports in Paris were publicly owned at that time, the London equivelants are not today.
2. Air France was publicly owned at that time and could be directed by the government to hub at the new airport. The same could not happen to British Airways today.
3. The construction of Roissy did not require the closure of Orly. The supporters of a Thames airport believe the fantasy that Heathrow would close.
4. Roissy opened when governments had a stranglehold over the industry and their policies prevailed. Today we are in an era of deregulation, open skies, and even cabotage!