Shafaq News- Paris

French Rafale fighter jets neutralized Iranian drones targeting the United Arab Emirates, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday, after France’s President Emmanuel Macron ordered the deployment of the country’s flagship aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean as the Israel-US-Iran war widens.

Speaking to France 2 TV, Barrot also announced evacuation flights for French citizens from the Middle East later today. “One will depart from the UAE, another from Egypt, and one from Israel,” Barrot said, declining to specify how many people would be on board.

Official crisis tallies from the French foreign ministry, the Quai d’Orsay, estimate that nearly 400,000 French nationals are living in or passing through the dozen countries directly affected by the escalation. The figure includes expatriates, dual nationals, business travelers and tourists. Israel alone accounts for about 221,000, with another 38,000 in Jerusalem and the West Bank.