French President Emmanuel Macron will join the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle on Monday for the traditional Christmas party with the troops, before attending a regional conference in Jordan on Tuesday, the Elysee Palace announced on Sunday.
The Head of State, who will attend the Blues final against Argentina on Sunday in Qatar, will leave the emirate directly the next day for the deployment area of the building, facing Egypt. In the event of a victory for the Blues, he will not be in Paris on Monday to possibly receive the French team.
For the Christmas of the troops, Emmanuel Macron had visited soldiers deployed in Africa in previous years. In 2020 and 2021, however, he gave up due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last year, relations had also deteriorated greatly with the ruling junta in Mali, where the head of state was planning to go. Since then, the French Barkhane anti-terror force has withdrawn from this country.
Emmanuel Macron will express his “confidence and support” for the armed forces to the aircraft carrier’s sailors on Monday night, the Elysée said. He will sleep aboard before joining Jordan on Tuesday.
The president “will not fail to mention regional crises”
Charles de Gaulle participates both in strengthening NATO’s defense and deterrence position against Russia, in the context of the war in Ukraine, and in the fight against terrorism in Iraq and Syria.
The flagship of the French navy, which left Toulon on November 15, is accompanied by frigates, tankers, a nuclear submarine and maritime patrol planes.
In Jordan, the Head of State will participate in the “Baghdad II” conference, which aims to bring together the main regional players, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, around Iraq, after a first edition in the Iraqi capital in August 2021. Participants meet at the King Hussein Bin Talal Center on the shores of the Dead Sea.
“It is about providing support for the stability, security, prosperity of Iraq and dealing with the entire region, since Iraq is a fundamental country” addressing common problems, such as global warming and food security, says the Elysee.
“The President of the Republic will not stop evoking the regional crises,” the presidency also specified while Iran is shaken by a wave of demonstrations and a bloody repression.
Emmanuel Macron will also meet Jordanian King Abdallah II, “an ally in the fight against terrorism,” according to Paris. French warplanes operate from this country against the Islamic State group.
Source: BFM TV
