Tensions Rise as Macron Orders French Aircraft Carrier to the Middle East

French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to sail to the Mediterranean as tensions in the Middle East intensify. ‘Facing this unstable situation and the uncertainty of the days ahead, I have ordered the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, its air assets, and the accompanying escort frigate to sail to the Mediterranean,’ Macron said in a speech carried by AFP and France 24 on Wednesday, 4 March 2026. In a recording of a speech previously aired on French television, Macron added that Rafale fighter jets, air defence systems, and air radar systems have been deployed over the past few hours in the Middle East. ‘And we will continue this effort as much as possible,’ he said. He also referred to last Monday’s attack on the UK’s air base on Cyprus. He added that Cyprus is a member of the European Union, which recently signed a strategic partnership with France. ‘This requires our support. That is why I have decided to send additional air defence assets there as well, together with the French frigate Languedoc, which will arrive off the coast of Cyprus later tonight,’ Macron said on Tuesday, local time (3 March). In a French defence council meeting last Sunday, Macron said France would raise its defence posture in the Middle East to protect its citizens and bases there, and to support countries in the region that are targets of Iran in retaliation for Israel-US attacks. Earlier on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that France had deployed Rafale jets over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to protect its naval and air bases. France has hundreds of navy, air force, and army personnel based in the UAE. Its Rafale aircraft are stationed at the Al-Dhafra base near Abu Dhabi. ‘Rafale and its pilots have been mobilised to ensure the security of our facilities,’ Barrot told BFMTV, responding to questions about France’s actions in the UAE over the past weekend to neutralise Iranian drones. ‘They have conducted operations to secure air space above our bases,’ he added.