French Military Overseas Deployments

France eyes UAE base, big military, nuclear deals
Tue May 26, 2009 6:17am IST

France eyes UAE base, big military, nuclear deals

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - France prepared on Monday to open its first military base in the Gulf region as it eyed multi-billion-dollar deals to supply the United Arab Emirates with nuclear power plants and advanced military aircraft.
French officials said the naval base in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, the world's third-largest petroleum exporter, would deepen ties to the Gulf Arab state and fortify efforts to battle piracy and defend trade.

"We look at this cooperation as an important pillar of our foreign policy because it helps the stability in the Gulf region," UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan said in comments read at a maritime security conference.

President Nicolas Sarkozy will open the base on Tuesday.

The UAE, the world's third-largest oil exporter, plans to build a number of nuclear reactors to meet an expected need for an extra 40,000 megawatts of electricity by 2017.

U.S. nuclear reactor builders GE and Westinghouse Electric Co, a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp, stand to get a big share of the expected $40 billion market if the U.S. Congress approves the deal.

French firms plan to compete for the business. France's Total, Suez, and state nuclear reactor maker Areva said last year they planned to develop two third-generation nuclear reactors in the UAE.

A source close to Sarkozy, who arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday night, told reporters that state-controlled power firm EDF would be joining the French consortium.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told the conference the naval base in Abu Dhabi aimed to support and train France's allies in the fragile region.



"Some 90 percent of European trade traffic is by sea and we have to defend traffic and trade and we are interested in the Gulf and want to bring about the necessary balance in this region," he said.

France will also play a major role in combating piracy in the region. "The naval base is also strategic for international security and stability. We assure maritime trade security in this region, the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf waters and the Indian Ocean," he said.

Kouchner declined to comment on whether the UAE had finalised a deal to buy Rafale fighter planes from France's Dassault Aviation.

Dassault said on Saturday it was in talks with the UAE on a possible order for its Rafale fighters, in what would be the first sale of the aircraft to a foreign buyer.

The newspaper Le Parisien reported earlier on Saturday that France was finalising the sale of 60 Rafale jets in a deal worth 6-8 billion euros ($8-11 billion), and that Sarkozy would personally push the issue during his visit to Abu Dhabi.

Dassault declined to confirm the figures and said an agreement might be reached this year.

Somali Pirates, French Military Trade Fire

Pirates Trigger 4 Shootouts in East Africa Waters; Official Vows Efforts to Win Release of Kidnapped British Couple



(AP)  Swarms of Somali pirates are moving into the waters off East Africa, triggering four shootouts Friday including a skirmish with French military personnel that sunk a pirate skiff, officials said.

The end of the monsoon season and the resulting calmer waters signal the beginning of the most dangerous period for ships traveling the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Nearly half the 47 ships hijacked off Somalia last year were taken in March and April.

Cmdr. John Harbour of the European Union Naval Force said a spike in attacks was very likely in coming weeks. But this season, ship owners and sailors are more prepared to try to evade pirates, fight back, or have armed security onboard, raising the likelihood of violence.

"We know the monsoon is over. We know they're coming," Harbour said. "We're taking the fight to the pirates."

In the most serious skirmish Friday, six pirates attacked a vessel before breaking off and chasing the French fishing boat Torre Giulia, Harbour said. Two other French fishing vessels nearby the Jalenduic and the Trevignon - aided the Torre Giula.

A French military detachment onboard the Trevignon fired warning shots at the pirates, but failed to stop the attack. The Trevignon approached the skiff and collided with it, said Harbour, sinking the skiff and throwing the pirates into the water. Four were rescued and a military aircraft was searching for the other two, he said.

In a second incident Friday, the EU Naval Force intercepted a pirate group of one mothership and two skiffs that had attacked a separate French vessel. That attack was also repelled by military personnel onboard.

An EU Naval Force helicopter tracked the pirates and watched them throw a rocket launcher, grappling hooks and fuel barrels into the ocean. The naval force said it destroyed the mothership and one skiff and took 11 pirates into custody.

In the third and fourth attacks, pirates assaulted two Spanish tuna fishing boats off the coast of Kenya, Spain's Ministry of Defense said. A spokesman said the boats had contacted Spanish navy forces in the area, who dispatched a plane. Between the air support and the private guards on the boats, they were able to repel the attack. The spokesman spoke on condition of anonymity because government rules don't allow him to be identified but the clashes were confirmed by deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega.

These incidents followed a firefight Thursday between private security contractors onboard a Spanish fishing vessel and pirates. The pirates set the ship on fire with a rocket-propelled grenade and the security guards returned fire. No one was hurt, but the International Maritime Bureau has expressed fears that the increased use of armed contractors could spark an arms race between fishermen and pirates, who are firing at ships with increasing frequency.

"The EU Navfor agrees with that recommendation because we don't want an escalation of firepower," said Harbour. "Also, there are lots of gas and oil tankers in the Gulf of Aden that wouldn't benefit from grenades and bullets flying around."

Pirate attacks off East Africa have dramatically increased over the past three years. Somali pirates attacked ships 217 times in 2009, according to the International Maritime Bureau. That was up from 111 attacks in 2008.

Last year, the average ransom was around $2 million, according to piracy expert Roger Middleton of the British think tank Chatham House. This year, two ransoms paid were around $3 million and $7 million, he said.

The original Somali pirates were fishermen aggrieved over the huge foreign trawlers depleting their seas - a complaint the international community has yet to address despite pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into anti-piracy patrols. Huge ransoms lured criminal gangs into piracy, though, and ransom inflation has made it more expensive to buy the freedom of the more than 130 hostages still being held.

Among those hostages are a retired British couple snatched last year from their sailboat, who a Somali official said Friday could be freed within weeks. Paul and Rachel Chandler were seized from their 38-foot yacht last October.

Mohamed Omar Dalha, the deputy speaker of Somalia's parliament, told The Associated Press that Somali communities inside and outside the chaos-wracked country are working to negotiate the "unconditional release" of the Chandlers. Dalha was hopeful they would be released within two weeks without payment.

Somalia has not had a stable government since warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/05/world/main6270091.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesAreaMain;cbsnewsLeadStoriesHeadlines

Those French don't take any shit. Run their ass over the captain said.

Mali military action intensifies



The French airforce has stepped up action against Islamist fighters in Mali, where rebels have occupied the north of the country for the last nine months.

Several hundred French troops have also arrived in the country’s capital city Bamako to help protect it.

Meanwhile West African states including Ivory Coast are preparing to send troops as an international campaign against the Islamists gathers pace.

Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French Prime Minister, said: “France wants to contribute this way to stop the terrorist menace, which is not only threatenng Mali and Africa, but which is also a threat to France and Europe.”

French President Francois Hollande is due to meet European Commission president Jose Barroso.

Mali requested French invention was triggered when rebel forces moved southwards, capturing the city of Konna and threatening the cities of Mopti and Sevare, which is only 500kms from the capital city Bamoko. Konna has now been recaptured by the government.

A spokesman for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said he considered French actin as “crusader intervention”, and warned that if France continued, it would be “digging the tombs of [its] sons”.

http://www.euronews.com/2013/01/12/mali-military-action-intensifies/


Relief in Mali’s capital as French troops arrive







The streets the Malian capital Bamako are free of the violence that plagues the north of the country, struggling against an Islamic insurgency.

At a bar in Bamako, several residents gather to watch their President on television assuring them that French troops have arrived to help and air strikes have begun.

One tells of the anxiety people felt before France stepped in: “I am very happy and pleased with this intervention regarding the situation in the north. We could not sleep last night. We consider it is a kind of deliverance that France has intervened at this strategic moment of our country’s occupation.”

Local barman Mohamed feels confident and looks to the future: “It is a bit of a concern for those in the north, but it will be okay. What matters is the total liberation of Mali.

http://www.euronews.com/2013/01/12/relief-in-mali-s-capital-as-french-troops-arrive/







Failed hostage rescue in Somalia: 1 French soldier dead, 1 missing




The French government says it believes hostage Denis Allex has been killed in Somalia by Islamic militants.

French forces carried out an air strike in Bula Mareer early Saturday at a base held by militant group al Shabaab in an attempt to free Allex.

A bloody battle ensued, as French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian explains:

“Violent combat took place. I speak with great caution here, but I have reason to believe that unfortunately Denis Allex was killed by his captors. During the attempted rescue mission, a French soldier was killed due to his injuries and another is missing.”

The defence ministry also said 17 militants were killed during the operation.

The al Shabaab group, which demands the end of French support for the Somali government, has claimed the hostage is still alive.

http://www.euronews.com/2013/01/12/failed-hostage-rescue-in-somalia-1-french-soldier-dead-1-missing/

French troops in Mali secure key town of Markala




The French army says it has secured Markala in Mali. The town is located between the area controlled by Islamist insurgents to the north and the country’s
capital Bamako to the south.

Colonel Frédéric of Special Forces told Euronews:

“The most important mission for us was to secure this town, which is strategically important. From here we can stop the rebels getting further south along the river Niger and towards Bamako. This has been done.”

“The rebels have understood that we are here and that we are solidly installed. This is the most important thing for us,” he added.

Cutting off the rebels’ potential gateway to the capital comes as the first troops from a large West African deployment have arrived in Mali to support efforts to fight the rebellion.

Euronews correspondent François Chignac reports from Mali:

“There are several vehicles with french camouflage like these, further along the river Niger. We are in Markala about hundred kilometres north of Bamako. Here, the French army has managed to prevent the rebels’ access to the capital Mali. Now, the next step is to ensure Diabaly and Konna are secure.”


http://www.euronews.com/2013/01/19/french-troops-in-mali-secure-key-town-of-markala

France's Military Is All Over Africa

France To Halve Troops in C. African Republic

PARIS — France will more than halve its troop deployment in the Central African Republic this month, as part of its handover of the peacekeeping mission to the UN, the army said on Thursday.

"The number of forces will go from 1,700 to 900 soldiers in the coming month," said French army spokesman Gilles Jaron.

"More and more, our presence will be focused on the capital Bangui. From Bangui, we will be able to deploy extremely quickly in support of UN forces," he said, adding that several French bases would now pass under UN control.

France launched Operation Sangaris in December 2013 in a bid to break the cycle of violence triggered by a coup earlier in the year. It had a peak strength of 2,000 troops before beginning its drawdown in March.

The United Nations launched its own operation in 2014, and now has some 10,000 peacekeepers in the country, where it hopes to oversee elections by the end of the year.

Thousands have been killed and almost a million displaced by fighting between different ethnic and religious groups since the coup in March 2013.

France has always been open about wanting to reduce its troop presence in its former colony, so that they can be deployed for counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel region of west Africa.

Its mission in Central African Republic has been tainted by allegations that several children were sexually abused by French soldiers in the first six months of the deployment.

An investigation is ongoing into the claims against 14 soldiers, which were not made public until they were leaked to the British press.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday ordered an independent, external review of the case and the French defence ministry announced on the same day they were declassifying internal documents over the handling of the allegations.

France To Station Counter-terrorism Force in Burkina Faso

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/international/mideast-africa/2016/03/24/france-station-counterterrorism-force-burkina-faso/82210250/

French special forces, who were among the Kurdish Peshmerga militia, wounded near Arbil in northern Iraq. This is our blog has already reported. French Ministry of Defence has traditionally declined to comment on the issue pertaining to the French Special Operations Forces.

http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2175055.html

France Officially Ends Military Operation in Central African Republic

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/africa/201610311046923648-france-military-operation-ventral-african-republic/

0:45 i died here

French special forces in Iraq

French special forces are present on the ground in Yemen with forces from the United Arab Emirates, French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Saturday, citing two military sources.

The newspaper gave no further information about their activities. The Defence Ministry was not immediately available for comment, but its usual policy is not to comment on special forces’ operations.

A French parliamentary source recently told Reuters French special forces were in Yemen.

Forces from an Arab alliance entered the airport in Yemen’s main port city on Saturday, in the biggest battle of the coalition’s war against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

https://news.antiwar.com/2018/06/16/french-special-forces-on-the-ground-in-yemen/

https://fpif.org/lessons-from-africa-military-intervention-fails-to-counter-terrorism/

Crisis in The Sahel Becoming France’s Forever War

Perhaps it will be Russia &/ China that will help the French to extricate themselves from there.

https://thediplomat.com/2021/12/frances-defense-strategy-in-the-indo-pacific/