Moldova: how the French army secured the summit within range of Russian missile fire

Emmanuel Macron returned to France last night after a stopover in Moldova which hosted the second summit of the European political community. The place, quite a symbol, was only 30km from the Ukrainian border. 45 European leaders, including Volodymyr Zelensky, gathered for a family reunion as a message of unity to Vladimir Putin.

A summit under very close surveillance that Europe 1 was able to follow. And what emerges is that, in all discretion, French military and intelligence resources were deployed to secure this meeting.

The French Air Force on its guard

A French Air Force patrol held an alert throughout the summit. According to information from Europe 1, these are two Mirage 2000-5 fighters and a tanker plane, ready to intercept any suspicious aircraft in the Moldavian sky. An airspace closed for the occasion to civil aviation and drones. In addition, a NATO Awacs, this intelligence radar aircraft, has also been deployed. The operation, dubbed “Aerial Bastion”, involved more than 200 Moldovan, Romanian and allied soldiers. France has also provided short-range ground-to-air means, specifies a senior officer.

Enough to show Eastern Europe France’s ability to take control of a possible common air defense in Europe. Highly sensitive subject with the Germans who put forward their own industrial solutions. Upstream, the West trained Moldovan soldiers in ground combat in order to detect potential separatist commandos from pro-Russian Transnistria, just 20km away. Finally, France has also invested in the cyber field to help Moldova counter possible computer attacks orchestrated from Moscow.