Archiv: Fabien Mandon


26.03.2026 - 21:51 [ Middle East Eye ]

French armed forces chief held video call with 35 countries on Hormuz strait

(today)

France‘s armed forces chief, General Fabien Mandon, held a video conference call with 35 countries on ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, France‘s defence ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry did not disclose which countries had joined the call.

„This initiative, independent of the ongoing military operations in the region, is strictly defensive in nature. Its purpose is to organize the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities have ceased,“ it said in a statement.

26.03.2026 - 21:44 [ BreakingDefense.com ]

‘Preparing for war:’ At French naval conference, a grim realism

(February 6, 2026)

PARIS — As he stood on the stage to deliver a keynote speech, Gen. Fabien Mandon, France’s military chief of staff, summed up the theme of the Paris Naval Conference in six direct words.

“Today,” he said, “we are preparing for war.”

The tone of the event, which saw leaders from NATO sea services gather in Paris Feb. 2-3, was decidedly direct: that France and its allies need to consider the reality that high-intensity conflict is likely in the near future. And, according to Mandon, France is not yet fully prepared.