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"The Mediterranean area will be the challenge of the coming years as the factors of crisis which combine there are numerous: contestation of maritime areas, clashes between neighbor countries, destabilization of Libya, migration, trafficking, access to resources", summarized the President Macron, during his last speech at the Hôtel de Brienne, on the eve of July 14, 2020.
And, after calling for the establishment of a "real European policy", he added: "The Mediterranean cannot build a lasting peace without us, we cannot accept that our future will be built by other powers. " In the following weeks, the eastern Mediterranean was the scene of great tensions, caused by the presence of Turkish research vessels in maritime areas claimed by Greece and the Republic of Cyprus.
France responded by sending Rafale B to Cyprus and then to Crete. Since then, the French Navy has "ostensibly displayed its presence" in this region, with the regular dispatch of frigates to take part in exercises [and, more recently, with the deployment of the carrier strike group formed around the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle ].
But, on March 13, this interest in the Eastern Mediterranean resulted in a show of force, as part of the exercise "Rhéa" [in reference to the mother of the Greek gods Zeus, Hades and Poseidon, editor's note], which had not been announced. During a Senate hearing four days later, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, gave some details.
"The French armed forces have carried out an unprecedented counterterrorism exercise in the Mediterranean, off Crete," the Minister announced. This exercise consisted of taking back control of a ship hijacked by terrorists and turning it into a "water firing base". "This is the scenario that mobilized the entire range at the top of the spectrum of our land, naval and air resources," said Ms. Parly.
“In just a few hours, marine commandos were flown into the area with a light assault craft. Rafale and Caracal helicopters took off from France to join the ship under the control of terrorists, 2000 kilometers from our bases, and directly engaged in its liberation, ”she added.
This explains certain movements observed on March 13 via air traffic monitoring sites, an E3F AWACS and at least one C-135FR tanker from the French Air Force and Space [aAE] having been spotted in the sector where the French exercise was organized. The latter must have involved a KC-130J for the air-to-air refueling of the Caracals of the 1/67 Pyrenees squadron.
According to Ms. Parly, this maneuver "mobilized 450 soldiers, Army soldiers, airmen, naval vessels that regularly operate in this area, as well as significant command and control resources. "
The Auvergne and Languedoc multimission frigates [which recently participated in an exercise off Sicily], the metropolitan support and assistance building [BSAM] Loire as well as the amphibious helicopter carrier [PHA] Mistral are currently deployed in the region.
"The assault was brief thanks to the very strong reactivity of our forces and the projection capacity of our armies", then underlined Mrs. Parly, before insisting on the fact that "only three Nations in the world are capable to conduct such an operation. "
“With this exercise at the bottom, we carry a message. Under our French and European vigilance, this message is that the Mediterranean will never be an area of lawlessness ”and that“ France is willing to participate in the preservation of the security and stability of the Mediterranean,alongside its allies, ”continued the Minister. "By projecting its means of intervention over a long distance and by using its exceptional know-how, France is showing that it has the means to defend itself with its allies," she insisted.
Before evoking this "unprecedented" exercise, Ms. Parly had once again mentioned Turkey, described as "a destabilizing actor," disruptor ", which has carried out an offensive and aggressive foreign policy, in particular by the organization of gas prospecting campaigns. in the Eastern Mediterranean escorted by numerous warships ”and which“ seeks to impose itself by force and by fait accompli. "
Besides Turkey, the minister also referred to Russia, which has "established itself as one of our main strategic competitors in the southern Mediterranean, in the Levant and in Africa, where it is seeking to secure its establishments. "
Les armées françaises ont fait une démonstration de force en Méditerranée orientale - Zone Militaire
"La zone Méditerranée sera le défi des prochaines années tant les facteurs de crise qui s’y conjuguent sont nombreux : contestation des zones maritimes,
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