French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin told Ta Nea that France is ready to support Greece in the Eastern Mediterranea...

French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin told Ta Nea that France is ready to support Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean, delivering the statement during last Friday's launch ceremony of the second FDI Defense and Intervention Frigate in Lorient, where the Greek flag was raised on the warship's mast. Greece originally ordered three FDIs in 2022, then added a fourth in November 2025, bringing the total to four. Vautrin said the pace of construction is running at two frigates per year, with the second scheduled for delivery to Greece in early December and the third expected in January. The fourth is currently under construction and proceeding at what she described as a satisfactory pace. Vautrin pointed to the Greek frigate Kimon's deployment alongside French forces on March 1 and 2 of this year as evidence that the partnership is already operational, saying it contributed directly to the security of Cyprus. A Greek frigate also joined the French aircraft carrier strike group's Mediterranean deployment in April 2026, and France was the only partner country to send fighter jets to the INIOCHOS exercise in March. The French minister noted that joint activities between the two countries have grown from roughly 20 in 2019 to 140 in 2025. French and Greek forces are also operating together under the ASPIDES mission in the Red Sea and the IRINI operation in the Mediterranean. Vautrin said the Greek-French partnership covers air, sea, seabed, space, and cyberspace within a single operational framework, describing it as a reflection of the broader security pressure building across the Eastern Mediterranean. #Greece #FranceGreece #EasternMediterranean