(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) French President Francois Hollande has ordered on Wednesday a naval carrier group to deploy to the Gulf region to reinforce French efforts in the fight against ISIL and against terrorism.
Speaking in a New Year wishes ceremony to the armed forces, Hollande indicated that "France is at war with terrorism," and the deployment of the carrier group Charles de Gaulle was necessary, he remarked, speaking from France's sole aircraft carrier.
"The situation in the Middle East justifies the presence of our aircraft carrier," he added. He also said that France would revamp plans to scale down the size of its army and would activate more relevant reserves.
France has already announced it is deploying 10,000 more troops to existing forces being used to counter terrorist threats on the mainland.
Already, there are 88,000 police, Gendarmes and Police on the streets of France and guarding sensitive sites, tourism venues, transport hubs and important buildings and this figure will soon be close to 100,000.
Hollande called a Special Defence Council meeting in a week's time to review military resources, particularly for manpower and budgets.
He said that the Charles de Gaulle carrier group will join the Coalition operations against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Daesh) and will help increase France's intelligence capability and firepower.
"The road will be long in Iraq," Hollande warned, and people should not imagine this fight is far away. "It is to ensure our own security," the President added.
"Daesh is retreating but it will be necessary to pursue this work as long as necessary," he said.
Since September, France has already committed to the campaign against ISIL and is flying strike missions in Iraq from bases in the UAE and Jordan.
France has declined to fly missions in Syria as Paris says it does not want to take action that could in any way strengthen the position of the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad.
Both Rafale and Mirage fighter-bombers, in addition to refuelling and AWACs-type surveillance planes, are being used in missions in Iraq. The naval carrier group to be deployed in the Gulf will include escort vessels, including an air-defence frigate and an anti-submarine frigate and an attack submarine, as well as support vessels, according to an earlier report by Defence media "Mer et Maritime" (Sea and Maritime).
The Charles de Gaulle would provide an additional 30 aircraft to the French forces in the region, including naval Rafales, Super-Etendard planes and Hawkeye helicopters, the report said.
No potential date for arrival in the region was made known.
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