France sends a military ship off the coast of Lebanon in case of evacuation of nationals
A French Navy ship set sail today from the southeast of France to position itself off the coast of Lebanon for “caution”in case it was necessary to evacuate French citizens, the army General Staff announced.
The French amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA), which “five to six days” to reach the eastern Mediterranean area from the port of Toulon, according to this source, is equipped with helicopters and a “integrated battle group” mobilized in case of evacuation of French citizens, if so decided.
“We are strengthening our resources to face a deterioration in the situation”a senior officer of the army General Staff told Agence France-Presse, specifying that at this moment “This is not about the evacuation of nationals”. The official did not specify the name of the vessel.
France has three amphibious helicopter carriers, the MistralHE Diksmuida and the Thunder. These ships of 21,500 tons and 199 meters in length, a kind of “floating ports”They are equipped with a hospital and barges and can accommodate several hundred people in their hangar. In spring, the Thunder it had been used to evacuate French citizens from Haiti.
Some 23,000 French or Franco-Lebanese are established in Lebanon. The French embassy has created a telephone response cell active seven days a week, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot recalled on Monday, traveling to Beirut.
