President Emmanuel Macron said France will send troops, radar units and defence systems to the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu to protect a key oil export route after missile attacks. He warned that a US diesel export ban would be "catastrophic" and denied that the CIA had warned France of Mediterranean drone threats. Macron also raised concerns about escalating hostile acts from Russia and has ordered plans to protect French critical infrastructure from drone and cyber attacks. His position on Russia was weakened after France obtained an exemption for Alisher Usmanov from EU sanctions.
France to Deploy Troops and Defence Systems to Protect Yanbu Oil Route, Macron Says
FILE PHOTO: France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the audience during a press conference at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on September 18, 2026. THOMAS SAMSON/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
PARIS, Sept 24 (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will deploy soldiers, radar units and air and ground defence systems to Saudi Arabia to help protect the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, a strategic hub for energy shipments after recent missile attacks.
Speaking in a primetime television interview, Macron said the deployment is intended strictly to safeguard the port and shipping routes involved in oil exports, not to draw France into regional conflicts. "We are going to send military resources—soldiers, radar systems and defence systems—to protect this site," he told TF1 and France 2.
Macron also warned that a possible US ban on diesel exports—a measure the White House says it is not considering—would be "catastrophic" for the global economy and for the United States itself.
Facing domestic pressure over high energy costs ahead of winter, Macron sought to reassure the French public that France has adequate gas and oil supplies and that the government is working to prevent disruptions to energy flows.
Global crude prices have risen after Yanbu, a main alternative route for some Saudi oil exports, came under missile attacks that Houthi forces in Yemen have claimed. The strikes have raised concerns about the security of Red Sea shipping lanes and prompted international responses to protect energy transit routes.
FILE PHOTO: France's President Emmanuel Macron arrives to address the audience during a press conference at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on September 18, 2026. THOMAS SAMSON/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Russian Threat
Macron rejected a report in Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the US Central Intelligence Agency had warned European governments about drone threats originating from the Mediterranean. "I can deny it. The CIA did not inform French services," he said.
At the same time, Macron warned that Russia is escalating hostile and criminal actions against European countries and said France could face strikes similar to the failed attack in Leipzig, for which German authorities have blamed Russia.
Last week the president convened party leaders at the Elysée to brief them on the growing threat and ordered his government to draw up plans to protect critical infrastructure from drone and cyber attacks. He accused Moscow of trying to intimidate Europe and weaken its resolve to support Ukraine.
Moscow has dismissed accusations of hybrid attacks as unfounded and politically motivated. Macron's credibility on Russia was dented this week after France secured an exemption for Russian-Uzbek metals magnate Alisher Usmanov from EU sanctions on national security grounds, a move that drew surprise from other EU members and coincided with Azerbaijan pardoning a French national jailed on espionage charges.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Inti Landauro, Leigh Thomas and Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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