The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle soon deployed in the Middle East. This was announced on Thursday, January 16, Emmanuel Macron during his vows to the armed forces.
"The Carrier Strike Group will come to support Operation Chammal [French section of the international operation Inherent Resolve, Editor's note] from January to April, before deploying to the Atlantic and the North Sea", he explained to an audience soldiers and elected officials at Air Base 123 in Orleans.
The aircraft carrier "will be the heart of combined operations in several European countries," he said in a speech to two Rafale fighter jets, adding that "Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Greece will participate in the Charles de Gaulle escort during his mission. "
Emmanuel Macron stressed that "this European force, like our Lynx deployment in the Baltic countries, will strengthen the transatlantic link and NATO, further proof that European defense and NATO are the two pillars of the same building".
"The threat (from the Islamic State group) still hangs"
The deployment of Charles de Gaulle will aim to strengthen the international coalition which is fighting the Islamic State group. "In the Near and Middle East, despite the changes in the region, our forces engaged in Operation Chammal are continuing operations to combat Daesh (...) the threat of which still hangs in another hidden, more insidious form ", insisted the French president.
Emmanuel Macron also launched a barely veiled spade to countries which, like Germany and Canada, withdrew part of their contingent from Iraq in early January amid tensions between Tehran and Washington. "France, from the beginning, with constancy (...), it has remained with determination, with courage", and "those who fight against the terrorist threat, those who undergo it, in this region, know who is there and who stays. "
BA 123 in Orleans, where the French president spoke, is one of the largest air bases in France, with 2,200 military and civilian personnel covering a wide spectrum of activities, including air transport and special operations.
Before his speech, Emmanuel Macron attended a demonstration of a paratrooper commando engaged in external operations, as currently in the Sahel, before being presented with anti-aircraft defense of nuclear bases and the tools of the anti-drone fight.
In the early afternoon, 150 to 200 people demonstrated against the pension reform in Bricy (Loiret), a few hundred meters from the air base. "Mr. Macron comes to send his wishes to the armed forces, he never does that for the employees. We show him that we are there," said one of them, François Compin, an employee at the Belleville-sur nuclear power plant. -Loire (Dear).
With AFP
Newsletter Don't miss anything from international news
Don't miss anything from international newssubscribe
google-play-badge_FR