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Given the forthcoming depletion in petroleum resources, how can a metropolitan economy whose development path relies on an industry that heavily depends on the oil market be confident about its future? This paper deals with a problem that is at the same time concrete (the future of an aeronautics industrial cluster), theoretical (the impact of external factors on destabilizing regional economies), and epistemological (how can research in economic geography guide action aiming to promote regional development?). Mixing empirical and theoretical sources, we first discuss the development path of the aeronautics industry in Toulouse. To clearly understand the energy challenge facing the aeronautics cluster in Toulouse, we then discuss the challenges raised by petroleum depletion. Finally, various development strategies for the metropolitan economy are analyzed and categorized. © 2007 Lavoisier, Paris. All rights reserved.