France will build a new aircraft carrier to boost its capacities as a maritime power, President Emmanuel Macron has told French troops gathered at a military base in Abu Dhabi, where he will also discuss bilateral ties with the Gulf state, notably co-operation on combatting drug trafficking. The UAE is the world's biggest buyer of French weapons but faces allegations they're being used to supply Sudanese paramilitary forces.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he had given the official go-ahead to replace his country's flagship – the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
