France

‘Capture Not Possible:’ France’s Desert Operation Against Al-Qaeda Chief

The French military, for the first time, provided details on Thursday of how late last week it 'neutralized' Abdelmalek Droukdel, the 'the third deputy' of Al-Qaeda's leader.

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UAE Still a Top Client as French Arms Sales Fall

French arms sales dropped nearly 8.6 percent last year to 8.3 billion euros ($9.3 billion) from 2018, with the United Arab Emirates — a key player in the Yemen conflict — still a leading client, a government report said Tuesday. France is regularly criticized by rights groups for arms sales to clients such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which are embroiled in a long campaign against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen that has claimed tens of thousands of civilian lives. A report presented to the French parliament Tuesday showed orders from Europe had grown to 3.47 billion euros — 45 percent of the total, up from a mere quarter the previous year. Belgium accounted for 1.8 million euros in sales. Middle Eastern clients represented about 30 percent last year with 2.15 billion euros in sales — down from almost 50 percent in 2018 — headed by the UAE with 1.5 billion euros and Saudi Arabia with 208.9 million euros. The numbers, “achieved in a context of particularly fierce competition confirming America’s supremacy and the emergence of new major exporters, particularly China … consolidates France’s place in the top five of global exporters,” said the report. In terms of deliveries, 2019 …

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Half of French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle crew test positive for COVID-19

Nearly half of the 2,300 sailors aboard France's aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and support craft when a coronavirus outbreak occurred tested positive

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Nearly 700 sailors from French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle test positive for coronavirus

A third of the nearly 2,000 sailors who were aboard France's aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and support craft when a coronavirus outbreak occurred tested positive

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French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to return to Toulon early over COVID-19 fears

France's aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be brought home early from a deployment in the Atlantic after some crew members showed coronavirus symptoms

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Sweden’s government proposes to send 150 troops and helicopters to Mali for Task Force Takuba

The Swedish government plans to send 150 special forces personnel and helicopters to join the new France-led Task Force Takuba in Mali

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French judges order 20 terrorism suspects to stand trial over 2015 Paris attacks

French judges have ordered 20 people to stand trial over the 2015 Paris attacks, including Salah Abdeslam, the only suspected assailant still alive

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A French A400M airdropped 40 tonnes of supplies to troops in the Sahel

A French Airbus A400M transport aircraft airdropped almost 40 tonnes of supplies to troops operating in the troubled Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa

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France declares Strait of Hormuz military mission fully operational

France declared the military component to its EMASOH maritime patrol mission in the strategic Strait of Hormuz fully operational

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Greece and France to ‘reinforce’ bilateral defense cooperation agreement

Greece will sign a wide-ranging defense deal with France in coming months, after a similar agreement with the United States.

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