France will deploy troops, radars and air defense systems to Saudi Arabia to protect a key oil hub on the Red Sea as Riyadh tries to contain missile and drone attacks by Houthi rebels, President Emmanuel Macron announced.
Macron said French forces would not join the fighting but would simply defend the strategic energy facility under an agreement with Riyadh. The announcement came hours after the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles heading towards Taif, which hosts a key Saudi air base, and the strategic port city of Yanbu.
"We will send military resources, namely soldiers, radar systems and defense systems, to protect the location of Yanbu," Macron told TF1 and France 2 on Thursday.
Macron said the Yanbu hub, which processes several million barrels of oil, had been “very badly damaged” in previous attacks. The Red Sea port has become increasingly important for Saudi exports as the US-Iran war severely restricts tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis said on Thursday they launched missile and drone attacks against several “sensitive targets” in the kingdom, specifically mentioning Saudi Aramco infrastructure in Yanbu. A Greek-operated Patriot battery, already deployed in Saudi Arabia, also intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone in the wider Yanbu area on Thursday, according to Reuters.
The Houthis have presented their campaign as a fight to expel Saudi-backed government forces from Yemen, end Riyadh's blockade and restore the country's sovereignty, warning foreign powers against joining the Saudi campaign.
France is the latest country Riyadh has turned to for military aid after Washington failed to intervene directly through Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Earlier this month, the Saudi leader asked US President Donald Trump to order strikes against the Houthi rebels, but Trump reportedly refused.
Trump later noted that the Houthis are “allowing most ships to pass” in the Red Sea and are focused on “just one place.” Instead, the U.S. offered intelligence-sharing and targeting assistance, while American forces remain focused on Iran.
Riyadh has requested additional support from France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt, as its stockpile of missile interceptors comes under pressure.
Britain has already agreed to deploy an RAF Voyager tanker to provide air-to-air refueling for Saudi operations, adding to the UK air defence equipment and personnel already stationed in the kingdom. Pakistan, which has a mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia, has pledged to defend the kingdom “to the full extent of its ability”, although Islamabad has not announced any new fighter deployment.
Egypt has offered Riyadh “unwavering” political support but has not announced military assistance. Italy also maintains an air defense mission in Saudi Arabia; an Italian Eurofighter jet stationed at King Fahd Air Base was damaged during an attack by Houthi rebels last week.
The renewed appeals from Saudi Arabia come as Houthi rebels are making major territorial gains along Yemen's Red Sea coast, seizing Mokha and strategic islands around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The group has also targeted Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping as it seeks to end the Saudi blockade of Yemen.
The fighting threatens Saudi Arabia from both sides of the Arabian Peninsula: Iran has severely disrupted the kingdom's traditional export route through Hormuz, while Houthi advances and attacks are putting pressure on its alternative Red Sea corridor through Yanbu and Bab al-Mandeb.
