Press release_The minister for the French Armed Forces announces that France assumes command of an American task force (TF)

• On Wednesday March 31st 2021, Florence Parly, minister for the French Armed Forces, announced that the French Carrier Strike Group formed around the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier will assume command of Task Force 50 (TF50), one of the components of the American naval forces deployed in the Persian Gulf.

• This decision confirms the credibility of the French armed forces and demonstrates the trust our American allies have towards France. France has carried out this mission once before, in December 2015.

• Focused on the Syrian and Iraqi theaters, as part of the INHERENT RESOLVE OPERATION (OIR), TF50 has always been at the forefront of American strategy in the Middle East.

Upon request of the United States, on March 31st 2021, France, for the second time since December 2015, will assume command of TF50 while it is deployed in the Persian Gulf, the French Carrier Strike Group, formed around the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, is composed of the multi-mission frigates Provence (FREMM), the air defence destroyer Chevalier Paul (FDA), the Command and supply ship Var (BCR) and the Belgian frigate Léopold 1er. The group will conduct the whole range of missions usually entrusted to American combat groups, such as controlling the air-sea space of the INHERENT RESOLVE Coalition fighting against ISIL in the Gulf region.

France has been cooperating with the United States of America for many years in the fight against terrorism, in the Sahel as well as in the Middle East. Such cooperation confirms the United States recognition of the French armed forces’ operational credibility and high value.

The CLEMENCEAU 21 mission is part of the fight against Islamist terrorist groups in Iraq, Syria. The effort of the Carrier Strike Group will focus on the terrorist threat currently weighing on the Gulf and Europe. In Iraq, the multinational OIR supports the local security forces in their action against the terrorist organisation.

Operating in this area where regional stability and European security are at stake, enables France to maintain autonomous situational awareness and assessment capabilities. This is the role of the Carrier Strike Group deployed in the CLEMENCEAU 21 mission, and of the soldiers deployed within the French forces in the United Arab Emirates (FFEAU), the AGENOR mission or the CHAMMAL operation – the French contribution to the international Coalition against ISIL.

France, as a stabilizing power, capable of force projection to defend its national interests anywhere in the world, and by involving its European partners, is a nation that defends the freedom of maritime navigation, endeavours to reduce regional tensions and contributes through this commitment to appeasing the situation in a vital, unstable and complex region.

Press contact:

Press center of the ministry for the French armed forces

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