William Molinié (on board the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle) 10:30 a.m., December 20, 2022

This Monday, Emmanuel Macron landed on the Charles de Gaulle, currently off Egypt, to celebrate Christmas with the troops.

Their objective: to defend NATO's eastern flank against Russian buildings.

Between diplomacy and intimidation, Europe 1 takes you aboard the aircraft carrier, to discover the daily life of members of the French navy, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

Emmanuel Macron is expected this Tuesday in Amman, Jordan, for a regional summit on the situation in Iraq and terrorism.

In the meantime, he is on board the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, to celebrate Christmas with the French troops.

Europe 1 takes you to the deck of the flagship of the French Navy.

It is currently in the Red Sea, off Egypt.

Mission: to ensure the defense of NATO's eastern flank.

Except that the Russian buildings are never far away.

Nor are intimidation maneuvers.

“We have to be able to show them that we are there”

Night falls on the Charles de Gaulle.

Eight Rafale are catapulted.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the ships of the Kremlin stick very closely to the French aircraft carrier, sometimes even a little too much, as noted by the captain of the ship, Vincent.

“We had some interactions with Russian buildings and Russian aircraft. There is a bit of manliness in these interactions. We have an unspoken code with limits that should not be crossed.

>> Find all the editorial newspapers of Europe 1 in replay and podcast here

It also happened that hunters flew over the flagship of the French navy.

Not enough to panic the ensign, Guillaume.

"They have the right to come and see us, just as we have the right to go see them. But we have to be able to show them that we are there. It's the activity that changes for us at deck level , that is to say that we must be more reactive", he explains at the microphone of Europe 1.

The aircraft carrier crossed the Suez Canal on Sunday.

He is currently heading south to descend the Red Sea where he will meet other rival military ships, such as the Iranians, off Djibouti, or the Chinese, a little further in the Indian Ocean.