Jay Honeck wrote:

Okay, Stefan -- the ball is in your court.

Show me one statistic that disproves that aviation in France hasn't been
decimated by the French government's predatory aviation gas tax strategy.

Ok. Let's start at the basics. First, statistics can't prove or disprove
anything. Carefully done (which few are), they can show correlations.
But interpreting those correlations is science (and an art) in itself.
So you started with the wrong question in the first place.

Then, to correct a misinformation: Avgas is not only taxed in France. It
is similiarly taxed throughout Europe. So if you want to bash somebody,
then you must bash whole Europe. (Yes, in this case, generalisation is
allowed.) I'm aware that bashing France is very popular among certain
Americans these days, but it is as it is.

Third, to correct another misinformation: It's not only avgas which is
taxed, but all oil products which is used for engines. (Jet fuel is an
exeption, but this is a long story. So let's forget this for the
moment.) Yes, auto gas is also highly taxed. But, surprize surprize, car
traffic isn't dead at all throughout Europe. Which already is that proof
you asked for.

Yes, "grassroot aviation" as you name it is very expensive in Europe.
Operating a light single under VFR costs about twice what it does in the
USA. But is it because of the taxation? To a small degree. Gas tax
contribute approximately one quarter to the hourly rate.

Frankly, as I said, private aviation is expensive. But somebody with an
average income can afford it if he really wants. (Unemployed are another
story, of course, but I guess they can't afford it in the USA, either.)
I'm not aware of anybody who really wanted to fly and couldn't do it
because of the price. I do know some who fly fewer hours, though.

So why is there less GA in Europe than in the USA? (It undoubtedly is
less.) First, as others mentioned, there are very few occations where GA
for transprotation reasons makes sense. Distances are smaller, so
usually train and/or car is not only cheaper but actually faster, too,
and if you really want to go far, you take an airline.

So GA (that grassroot GA, not biz jets) is a purely recreational
activity. And now comes the bummer: There are actually people out there
who are not interested in learning to fly! They just don't care! Yes,
it's shocking, I know, but it's the way it is. But then, it's maybe not
that surprizing at all: In Europe, nobody cares for baseball, either,
but everybody talks about soccer! Can you imagine this? Or, back to
aviation: In many European countries, soaring is more popular than
motorized flight, and not for financial reasons. Other countries, other
cultures, other hobbies. (Having lived for some time abroad helps a lot
in accepting this.)

So, to summarize: Yes, there is fewer GA in Europe. But even if you
would wipe all avgas taxes, there wouldn't be more.

Stefan