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Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday that France would start facilitating the evacuation of its nationals from the Middle East as the Iran war continues for a fourth day.
“We are preparing to charter flights so that the most vulnerable people…can benefit,” Barrot told reporters.
He said around 400,000 French nationals were in many of the countries across the Gulf region currently being targeted by Iranian drones and missiles as they attempt to strike US military assets.
“Most countries have closed their airspace, so it’s hard to leave these countries. But if you have the opportunity to do so, do it,” he said, stopping short of calling for the immediate return of French citizens.
“The priority is obviously the safety of our nationals and our interests, but also to de-escalate as quickly as possible”
A census of French travellers is currently under way, via the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ Ariane portal.
Tens of thousands of people are said to be stranded in the region after most countries closed their airspace to civilian flights when the US and Israel began joint strikes on Iran on Saturday.
Evacuation flights planned
Meanwhile, several countries have organised evacuation flights to repatriate their nationals.
Two evacuation flights with 200 passengers each landed in the Czech capital Prague on Tuesday morning.
Germany had announced on Monday it would send aircraft to Saudi Arabia and Oman as soon as possible to evacuate the most vulnerable travellers.
There are around 30,000 Germans stranded in the region, according to the German Tourism Association.
Travel firm TUI said Tuesday it would begin flying home 5,000 clients stranded on two of its cruise ships in the Gulf via Dubai.
Three flights evacuating Italian nationals were expected to land in Rome and Milan later Tuesday, according to the airports.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Tuesday a UK government charter flight would bring home British nationals from Oman in the coming days.
British Airways said it had scheduled a flight from Oman on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Spain was also organising evacuation flights, and an Etihad flight carrying Spanish nationals was set to land in Madrid on Tuesday evening.