France's military support to Saudi Arabia amid repeated attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels is "strictly defensive", French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Sunday, as Paris prepares to deploy troops, radar units and defence systems to help protect key energy infrastructure. Barrot's comments followed President Emmanuel Macron's announcement on Thursday that France would send military personnel and equipment to Saudi Arabia, particularly to help secure the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Asked whether the French deployment meant Paris had become a partner in Saudi Arabia's war against the Houthis, Barrot told state broadcaster France 2, "Absolutely not... This is strictly defensive."
Macron had said France would send "soldiers, radars and defence systems" to Yanbu, stressing that the deployment was intended to protect the site rather than involve France in the conflict. Yanbu is a major oil storage and refining hub and is connected to Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, which can carry up to seven million barrels of oil a day. The French deployment comes after repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia since Yemen's war reignited in July following a years-long truce. The attacks have targeted Saudi oil installations and the Yanbu oil terminal. The Houthis said on Thursday that they had attacked facilities belonging to Saudi state oil company Aramco in Yanbu as well as a "sensitive target" in Riyadh. Saudi forces said they had intercepted six ballistic missiles, while authorities did not confirm any damage, according to Al Jazeera. Barrot said France had deployed military assets to protect allies and partners since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran. "Does that mean at any time we can be considered co-belligerents? Never," he said.
Barrot said the scale of France's military deployment would depend on what Saudi Arabia requested, France's own capabilities and how the regional situation developed. The renewed Houthi attacks have added pressure on Saudi Arabia's energy export routes. The Houthis are seeking to impose a blockade on Saudi energy exports, which had been shifted towards the Red Sea after Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz disrupted traffic through the Gulf. The Houthis also seized the Yemeni port of Mocha and several Red Sea islands earlier this month, according to Al Jazeera, giving them significant control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which usually carries about 12 per cent of global oil trade. Strikes have also disrupted operations of the East-West Pipeline linking Saudi oil fields to Yanbu. Riyadh had been using the pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has been restricted amid the Iran-US war. The Houthi attacks have since forced Saudi Arabia to move some exports back through Hormuz, according to Al Jazeera.
Saudi Arabia has also been holding talks with allies over the escalating attacks. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye met on Thursday to arrange an "urgent meeting" of their military chiefs under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, according to the Saudi foreign ministry. The pact treats an attack on one member as an attack on all, although it has not officially been triggered. The three countries also condemned Houthi attacks that they said targeted Mecca and other civilian sites. The French move comes as Saudi Arabia continues to support Yemen's government forces in their conflict with the Houthis. The Iran-aligned group has been fighting the Saudi-backed government for more than a decade. The conflict had been under a truce since 2022 but has recently reignited amid wider fighting involving Iran and its regional allies. Barrot said France's military support should not be interpreted as direct participation in the Saudi-Houthi conflict, reiterating that Paris's role was focused on protecting its ally and key infrastructure.
