laptop when you got home was a good idea.....Not! :>)
I imagine that since the gent was retiring from Dassault, management signed off on this stunt sort of like Boeing signing off on a backseat ride in an F-18 or F-15. The Navy flies reporters, VIPs in Blue Angel F-18s. likewise the Airforce in F-15s but you and I pay for that and Fr. Ted's ride. Anyway, after a retirement luncheon, there was probably not a lot of clear thinking.
I went to a luncheon up in Lancaster for a buddy (USAF F-105 Thud driver) retiring from the L-M Skunkworks but nobody suggested an SR-71 ride or hanging on the wing of an F-22.