For several days, the general staff had placed its air assets on alert to intervene in the event of a suspension of commercial flights from Lebanon. This Tuesday, even if civilian means are in service, an A400M military transport plane will provide the link between Beirut and the French capital.
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The military machine, capable of transporting freight and more than a hundred passengers, will touch down at the end of the day at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport with more than 60 people applying for departure. “ These are not evacuations », Specifies a source. She continues: “ The French Embassy in Beirut invites people to leave, but it remains everyone’s decision. »
While Israel intensifies its bombings in the Lebanese capital, France is counting on other transport planes in the event that the situation leads to an evacuation of its nationals, but also on an amphibious helicopter carrier from the National Navy, ” we assess the situation hour by hour », A source from the Quai d’Orsay told JDD.
The French expected at the end of the day are not the first to flee the war in Lebanon. Already, last week, several dozen expatriates were able to reach France via flights operated by the airline Middle East Airlines.
France works with the Lebanese national airline
As announced during his trip to Lebanon by the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Mr. Jean-Noël Barrot, “ Middle East Airlines today set up two additional flights at its request which allowed some of our compatriots who wished to do so – in particular those who find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation – to return to France », Details the Quai d’Orsay.
