France Preparing Navy For 'High Intensity Warfare'

Naval combat is becoming increasingly likely.

France is switching its navy training from a focus on police operations to preparation for a war of annihilation. Politico writes, citing a statement by the commander of France's aircraft carrier battle group, Rear Admiral Jacques Mallard, that while previously the main tasks of the French navy were to intercept drug traffickers and fight illegal fishing, now the training is focused on military threats.

"Naval combat is becoming more and more likely. We're moving from a world where we were pretty free to do as we please to a world where we feel threatened on a more regular basis.... We are now preparing for other missions, particularly what we call high-intensity warfare," he said.

He notes that since Russia's war against Ukraine is also taking place in the Black Sea and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are attacking warships and merchant ships in the Red Sea, Western navies are having to adapt to a new environment with "increasingly emboldened competitors."

He noted that French sailors are training to fight "someone who wants to destroy us. Not someone who wants to trade illegally, not someone who wants to steal fish, not someone who wants to watch us, but someone who wants to destroy us."

At the same time, Paris does not see China as an immediate threat, as China has a "rather restrictive vision" of freedom of navigation and has chosen to focus its efforts on controlling the South China Sea.