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, the Armed Forces Foreign Minister announced on Tuesday. .
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 NATO’s eastern flank” and “the violence of the fighting in Ukraine”, argued Sébastien Lecornu during a hearing before the Senate Defense Committee.
France is the framework nation for a NATO mission in Romania, which currently has 350 French soldiers, as well as Belgian and Dutch soldiers.
Rafales expected in Lithuania
France is preparing to double its workforce on site in November, a military source specifies, 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 fighter jets for aerial surveillance, “and in Estonia, where a reinforced light infantry company will be deployed” in 2023 equipped with Griffon vehicles, that is, an additional hundred men, added the French Minister of the Armed Forces.
To date, some 300 French soldiers are stationed in Estonia as part of NATO.
Source: BFM TV
