French Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle Arrives in Abu Dhabi
The French navy’s flagship has arrived in Abu Dhabi after taking part in operations against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
The Charles de Gaulle, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a displacement of 43,000 tonnes, was accompanied by French and European warships.
They are part of a taskforce involved in a multinational military campaign against the militant group.
After leaving its home port of Toulon in southern France last November, the aircraft carrier arrived in the UAE capital for a few days of rest for its 1,900-strong crew.
“As this mission is long and demanding, we need to regenerate the crew before a new phase of operations,” said a French military spokesman.
French president François Hollande announced the deployment of the Charles de Gaulle on November 5 last year, about a week before terrorist attacks in Paris killed 120 people. Details
