Overview
- Speaking at a French base in the United Arab Emirates on Dec. 21, President Emmanuel Macron announced the formal decision to build the carrier.
- The next-generation ship will be larger than Charles de Gaulle with the goal of strengthening France’s maritime combat power.
- French media report the carrier is planned to enter service in 2038.
- Macron tied the move to lessons from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and questions over U.S. commitment under President Trump.
- He said France must be “strong enough to be feared,” casting the carrier as a symbol of national industry and technology, while detailed design, cost and schedule information was not disclosed.