France will strengthen its military presence on NATO’s eastern flank by deploying armored infantry vehicles (VBCI) and Leclerc tanks in Romania in the coming weeks, according to the Ministry of the Armed Forces. France is the framework nation for a NATO mission in Romania, which currently has 350 French soldiers.
France will strengthen its military presence on NATO’s eastern flank by deploying armored infantry vehicles (VBCI) and Leclerc tanks in Romania in the coming weeks, as well as reinforcements in Estonia, its Minister of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday. Armies.
This decision by President Emmanuel Macron to “raise our defensive posture on the eastern flank of Europe” was taken “in view of the situation on the eastern flank of NATO” and “the violence of the fighting in Ukraine”, argued French Minister Sébastien Lecornu during a hearing before the Senate Defense Committee.
Rafale fighter jets deployed
France is the framework nation for a NATO mission in Romania, which currently has 350 French soldiers, as well as Belgians and Dutch. Paris is preparing to double its workforce on the spot in November, according to a military source, with a dozen VBCIs and a dozen Leclerc tanks.
“We will also continue to strengthen our defense posture in Lithuania”, with the deployment of Rafale combat aircraft to provide air policing, “and in Estonia where a reinforced light infantry company will be deployed” in 2023 equipped with Griffon vehicles, i.e. a hundred additional men, added the French Minister for the Armed Forces. Today, some 300 French soldiers are stationed in Estonia as part of NATO.