William Molinié / Photo credits: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP
Emmanuel Macron is visiting the third French military base in Cherbourg this Friday, alongside Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu. If the Head of State chose this base, it is no coincidence: for the French Navy, this site is a strategic observation post through which 25% of global maritime traffic passes.
Emmanuel Macron is going to Cherbourg this Friday, alongside the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, to present his wishes to the armies from the naval base. On the program: visit to the mechanical constructions of Normandy, where combat ships are being built, official ceremony, meeting with students from the atomic school who are learning to pilot nuclear reactors. If the Head of State chose the Cherbourg naval base, it is no coincidence: for the French Navy, this site is a strategic observation post through which 25% of the world’s maritime traffic passes.
A Russian nuclear submarine spotted off the coast of Cherbourg last October
On October 21, the Krasnodar was spotted off the coast of Cherbourg. This Russian nuclear attack submarine cruises along the Normandy coast. He has the right to do so since he is in international waters. A multi-mission frigate of the French navy is monitoring it very closely, as a simple precautionary procedure, to ensure that the Krasnodar and its tug, the Sergey Balk, adopt a peaceful posture.
This type of scene, so close to French lands, is “fairly regular”, according to a high-ranking official. It even happens that Russian warships come to take shelter in the Bay of Seine when navigation conditions are unfavorable. “We pay special attention to them,” continues this source.
Moreover, the Russian navy keeps a rather low profile. Today, it has no interest in behaving badly in the Channel Strait, at the risk of having to go around the British Isles to the north, which would considerably lengthen the navigation time of its boats leaving or returning from the sea. Mediterranean.