France deployed helicopter carrier

Paris (dpa) — France is deploying a helicopter carrier to the Mediterranean in addition to the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in response to the Iran war, officials said on Friday.

This is to reinforce the military forces already sent by Paris, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

“An amphibious helicopter carrier is being deployed in the Mediterranean to supplement the French Armed Forces in the context of the crisis in the Middle East,” said a spokeswoman, confirming information published in the newspaper Le Marin.

According to the report, the helicopter carrier Tonnerre (Thunder) left its home port of Toulon in southern France on Friday, accompanied by a frigate.

Another French helicopter carrier is already in the Middle East on another mission.

With the aircraft carrier expected to arrive in the region over the weekend, three of France’s largest warships will then be in the conflict zone.

In 2024, a helicopter carrier was positioned off Lebanon in case French citizens needed to be repatriated amid fighting between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in the country.