French President Emmanuel Macron ordered the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to redeploy from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday. The move comes as France bolsters its military presence in the Middle East following escalating regional tensions and recent U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Macron announced that the carrier will be escorted by frigates and its air wing, while Rafale fighter jets, air-defense systems, and airborne radar systems have been deployed over the past hours. The French leader emphasized that forces had already shot down drones in "legitimate self-defense" during the initial hours of the conflict.

The deployment follows Monday's strike on a British air force base in Cyprus, an EU member state with which France has a strategic partnership. Macron cited defense agreements with Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Jordan, and Iraq as justification for France's enhanced military posture in the region.