In an interview with “Parisien”, the minister discusses the Iranian attack in Israel and the consequences in the region.
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What was France’s role during the Iranian attack in Israel? In an interview with Parisian, Saturday April 20, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, returned to the action in Paris. On April 13, when Tehran launched more than 300 drones and missiles on Israeli soil, France provided aid to Tel Aviv. “To hit Israel, a certain number of vectors passed over Iraq or Jordan, in an area close to our bases. We carried out the necessary actions to protect our military assets against these threats,” declared the minister.
If France is not at war with Iran“it is clear that our armed forces participate in controlling escalation”. France is notably present on the border between Lebanon and Israel, under UN mandate, and in the Red Sea, “to keep the maritime wheels open in a context of self-defense”. “Iran presents a security challenge, not only for Israel and regional countries, but also for Europe,” he warned.
Only “transfers of spare parts” in Israel
Furthermore, Sébastien Lecornu reaffirms that France does not sell any weapons to Israel. “We mainly have transfers of spare parts for an amount of 15 million euros in 2022, or 0.2% of exports”, he said. According to a joint investigation published by the media Disclosed And Marsactu in March, “France authorized, at the end of October 2023, the delivery to Israel of at least 100,000 pieces of cartridges for machine guns likely to be used against civilians in Gaza”. In response, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu asserted that “the French license which was given [pour cette livraison] does not entitle the Israeli army to use these components”, but only authorizes “re-export” to third countries.
While the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will pass for the first time under NATO operational control for a fifteen-day mission in the Mediterranean, Sébastien Lecornu recalls that France can make resources available to multilateral organizations. This announcement caused several political leaders to react, notably at La France insoumise and the far right. Jean-Luc Mélenchon had criticized on “vassalization displayed”.