Gabriel Attal will make his first visit to the armies on Friday at air base 942 in Lyon Mont-Verdun (Rhône), the nerve center of French air defense and in particular air security, which comes directly under the authority of the Prime Minister, announced Wednesday Matignon.
The National Air Operations Center is under the direct authority of the Prime Minister
The head of government will be presented in particular with the air security system for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He will attend a demonstration of the fight against drones and a presentation of the Fennec helicopter. He will return to Paris aboard an Air Force Airbus A330-MRTT Phénix used for transport and in-flight refueling of other aircraft.
The Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu will not be present, held in Berlin the same day by a meeting with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius. He will be represented by Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Patricia Miralles. Gabriel Attal will visit the National Air Operations Center (CNOA) on this base, installed underground to resist a possible nuclear attack.
The activities of this center, visited by his predecessors Édouard Philippe, Jean Castex and Elisabeth Borne, are under the direct authority of the head of government as part of his territorial defense mission. If a plane refuses to identify itself and give its regulatory information, the CNOA can send a helicopter or a fighter plane to communicate. In the event of refusal to comply, the aircraft sent for reconnaissance may carry out a warning shot, or even shoot down the aircraft — which has never happened.
This final decision is taken by the Prime Minister at the end of a very short chain of command, so as not to waste time. On average, the CNOA sends 200 to 250 aircraft each year to ensure security in the skies. Gabriel Attal will also visit the no less sensitive Air Center for Planning and Conduct of Air Operations (CAPCO), which further coordinates external air operations, including those in the Sahel of the Barkhane force.