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French aircraft carrier arrives in Mediterranean amid conflict in Middle East — AFP

According to the agency, the ship will participate in "ensuring the safety of French citizens and its allies who have been attacked by Iran"

PARIS, March 6. /TASS/. France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier has crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea on orders from French President Emmanuel Macron as the conflict in the Middle East rages, AFP reported.

According to the agency, it will take the ship a few days to get to the area of its mission in the Eastern Mediterranean, where it will participate in "ensuring the safety of French citizens and its allies who have been attacked by Iran."

Later, the agency citing the general headquarters said a copter carrier went to the region "to complement the French forces amid the crisis in the Middle East." AFP said that in 2024, when Israel was carrying out a military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, a vessel of this type was transferred to the coastal waters as a precautionary measure in case it was necessary to evacuate French citizens.

Macron said on March 3 he would shift the aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean from the North Atlantic along with an aircraft carrier group. He promised to strengthen the measures to ensure the security of France’s bases in the Middle East after two of them have been attacked by Iranian drones, and to provide support to the friendly countries in the region.

Earlier, Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said the ship should arrive in the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday, March 7. She did not specify what tasks it would perform, adding only that it could later be sent to the Eastern Mediterranean. The minister also said there were 12 French Rafale fighter jets and additional air defense systems in the UAE.