France allowing US aircraft on 'some Mideast bases'
"As part of our relations with the United States, the presence of their aircraft has been temporarily authorised on our bases" in the region, a spokeswoman for the military general staff told AFP.
A person points at a page on the Marinetraffic website that shows commercial boats traffic on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast, in Paris on March 4, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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PARIS — France has allowed US aircraft on some of its bases in the Middle East after US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered regional conflict, the French military said Thursday.
"As part of our relations with the United States, the presence of their aircraft has been temporarily authorised on our bases" in the region, a spokeswoman for the military general staff told AFP.
"These aircraft contribute to the protection of our partners in the Gulf."
France has an airbase in the United Arab Emirates and aircraft stationed in Jordan, as well as an airbase just outside the region in Djibouti.
President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said US-Israel military operations in Iran since Saturday had been conducted "outside international law".
But he placed primary blame on the Islamic republic for the conflict that has since spread to other parts of the Middle East.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially refused to allow the Americans to use UK air bases.
But he later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a "specific and limited defensive purpose".