The aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle will come under the operational control of the Atlantic Alliance for the first time. The 15-day mission will take place from April 26 to May 10 under the command of the StrikforNato maritime staff, comprising fifteen nations including France.
The mission will allow France “to fall into line by putting itself on the same level as our allies,” said the commander of the French naval air group, Rear Admiral Jacques Mallard. It “is a message to the Russians. Faced with the growing threat, being collectively effective takes precedence, said Pascal Ausseur, Director General of the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies. France has reinvested in NATO since the return of the Russian threat, in parallel with its military disengagement in Africa. The United States placed one of its aircraft carriers under NATO operational control in 2022, for first time since the Cold War, while the British did so in 2023, according to NATO.