French aircraft carrier heads to North Atlantic amid Greenland tensions / Photo: © AFP/File
French aircraft carrier heads to North Atlantic amid Greenland tensions
The flagship of the French Navy, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, on Tuesday set course for the Atlantic, the defence ministry said, after the United States and Europe butted heads over Greenland.
On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron is to meet the leaders of Denmark and Greenland in Paris, his office said.
European powers rallied together when US President Donald Trump this month undermined the transatlantic alliance by threatening to seize the autonomous Danish territory.
Greenland is strategically located between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean.
The French defence ministry did not specify where the Charles de Gaulle was being deployed. But sources familiar with the matter told AFP that the aircraft carrier was heading to the North Atlantic, which has been at the heart of the geopolitical tensions.
"The naval air group has set sail from the Toulon naval base to take part in Orion 26, a large-scale joint and allied exercise," the French defence ministry said.
"Conducted over the coming weeks in the Atlantic zone -- a strategic area for the defence of European interests -- this exercise will bring together French forces alongside their regional allies and partners."
The carrier strike group includes the aircraft carrier and its aircraft, as well as various escort and support vessels, such as an air-defence frigate, a supply ship and an attack submarine.
None of the sources questioned by AFP said how far north in the North Atlantic the carrier strike group would go.
Russian submarines from the Northern Fleet or the Baltic Fleet regularly go through the North Atlantic Ocean.
Trump had this month threatened to seize Greenland and impose tariffs on any European countries -- including France, Germany and Britain -- that opposed him.
After European pushback, he later backed down on the threat to take the territory by military force.
NATO chief Mark Rutte warned on Monday that Europe cannot defend itself without the United States. But France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot hit back, posting on X that "Europeans can and must take responsibility for their own security".
(W.Uljanov--DTZ)
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