France: Military aid to Saudi Arabia is ‘strictly defensive’

French military aid being offered to Saudi Arabia to confront Houthi attacks from Yemen is “strictly defensive,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Sunday, as Al Jazeera reports. His comments on state television France 2 come after President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement on Thursday of the deployment of French troops, radar units and “defense systems” to the Saudi kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has come under repeated missile and drone attacks by the Houthis, after the Yemen war reignited in July following a multi-year ceasefire — adding another front to the Middle East war launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, Al Jazeera writes. Riyadh is relying on the air defenses of Western allies to cope with the waves of attacks.

Asked whether France’s aid meant Paris had become a partner in Saudi Arabia’s war against the Houthis, Barrot replied: “Absolutely not… This is strictly defensive. Since the beginning of the [U.S.–Israel] war against Iran we have deployed military assets to protect our allies, our partners.” He stressed that France could not be considered a “co-belligerent” at any moment.

Barrot’s statement comes at a time when Europe is being drawn ever deeper into the regional conflict — London has already accepted the Saudi request for defensive air support, while the Iran-backed Houthis have expanded their attacks beyond Yemen’s borders, making the Red Sea and the Gulf the hottest zones of the naval war.