French media reports that President Macron has decided to send Leclerc armored vehicles and tanks to Romania, Rafale fighter jets to Lithuania and an infantry company to Estonia.
France will boost its military presence on NATO’s eastern flank by deploying armored personnel carriers (VBCIs) and Leclerc tanks to Romania in the coming weeks, as well as reinforcements to Estonia, the defense minister announced today.
This decision by President Emmanuel Macron to “strengthen our defense position on the eastern flank of Europe” was made “due to the situation on NATO’s eastern flank” and “the intensity of the fighting in Ukraine,” French Minister Sébastien Lecorny said during hearing before the Senate Defense Committee.
France is a participating country in a NATO mission in Romania, which currently has 350 French soldiers, as well as Belgian and Dutch troops.
Paris is preparing to double its field personnel by November, a military source said, with a dozen armored personnel carriers (VBCIs) and a dozen Leclerc tanks.
“We will also continue to strengthen our defense position in Lithuania” with the deployment of Rafale fighter jets to guarantee air policing “and in Estonia where a reinforced light infantry company will be deployed” in 2023 equipped with Griffon vehicles, i.e. an additional 100 men, added the French Minister of the Armed Forces.
Today, almost 300 French soldiers are stationed in Estonia as part of NATO.
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