The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle returns to service after almost a year of inactivity

The flagship of the French navy, the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, carrying Rafale Marine fighter jets, left the port of Toulon in southeastern France at about 10 a.m. on Monday. The Charles de Gaulle was accompanied by a nuclear submarine, specialized frigates and a supply ship – all of which formed the French “carrier group”, the largest in Europe.

From April 26 to May 10, he will participate in a NATO mission combining ships from several countries (USA, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy) under the command of a naval headquarters consisting of fifteen countries, including France, and headed by an American vice admiral.

On April 25, on the eve of the transition to NATO operational control, the aircraft carrier will also host for the first time a conference of 32 ambassadors from the alliance’s member countries, a sign of France’s reinvestment in NATO. .

French Vice Admiral Didier Maleterre, NATO’s number two naval commander, stressed in announcing the mission that France could “with the snap of a finger restore national command during operations if necessary.”

“Obvious vassalization” of France.

But announcements about the transfer of the aircraft carrier to the control of the alliance were criticized. Thus, the leader of La France insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, on April 12 in X (ex-Twitter) condemned the “demonstrated vassalization” of France.

“We must not succumb to lies,” retorted Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu on the same network, guaranteeing that “France will never lose command of its forces deployed under the NATO flag.” “Our aircraft carrier will be the spearhead of this mission, carried out alongside our allies. We are the only Europeans capable of deploying a carrier battle group of this scale,” he added.

With this mission, the Charles de Gaulle, which carries 1,900 crew members and 40 aircraft, resumes operations after a period of unavailability for interim maintenance (IEI) that began in May 2023, with eight months of “maintenance and modernization” work their capabilities.” “, according to the ministry and sea trials.